Community Centre Closure

June 12, 2024

The Fernie Community Centre is closed, effective Tuesday June 12, 2024.

The difficult decision has been made to close the facility, following the review of recently completed indoor air quality and building condition assessments.

The immediate mitigating work required to make the facility safe for continued public use is extensive and cost prohibitive.

We appreciate that this will cause significant disruption for facility users and event hosts who rely on this facility, and we are dedicating resources to work with users to determine alternate arrangements at other facilities, while we explore longer-term options.

Our Parks, Facilities and Recreation department will be contacting all those with existing bookings or booking requests.

Public safety is our top concern, and we thank you for your understanding while we work to decommission the Fernie Community Centre.

Background:

Staff have noted the Community Centre facility deteriorating significantly over the last ten years, which prompted further investigation by Health and Safety and the Parks, Facilities, and Recreation department earlier this year to assess the state of the facility in more detail.

Following an initial site visit for air quality and indoor mold testing, the City received Laboratory results indicating the presence of mold and mold spores in the facility.

Subsequently, a more comprehensive facility assessment was contracted, it identified a number of additional concerns regarding the structure and building envelope, necessitating the difficult decision to close the facility and focus on relocating bookings and user groups wherever possible.