A Vernon city councillor is calling for local arenas to be returned to public 
control after receiving numerous complaints about arena maintenance over the holidays.Coun. Jack Gilroy said in Monday’s meeting that his Blackberry is full of e-mail from people annoyed about the burnt out lights at the Civic Arena and the filthy showers. He said that some people were forced to change in the arena’s hallway because no one could be found to unlock the dressing rooms.“The facilities ran well when we had our people in there,” Gilroy said. “I’d really like to see these arenas come back under the city.” 
control after receiving numerous complaints about arena maintenance over the holidays.Coun. Jack Gilroy said in Monday’s meeting that his Blackberry is full of e-mail from people annoyed about the burnt out lights at the Civic Arena and the filthy showers. He said that some people were forced to change in the arena’s hallway because no one could be found to unlock the dressing rooms.“The facilities ran well when we had our people in there,” Gilroy said. “I’d really like to see these arenas come back under the city.” 
Gilroy said he is disappointed that the scoreclock bulbs still have not been replaced since he raised the issue in November.“We just don’t get these problems fixed anymore,” Gilroy said. “This isn’t good enough for the taxpayers of the City of Vernon.”Parks manager Al McNiven said the clock was inspected last week and only two burnt out lightbulbs were found. He said that the parks department meets regularly with Recreation Excellence, the operators of the arena, and makes them aware of any maintenance issues.“We do our regular tours and any feedback we get we make them aware of that,” he said.
On Dec. 27 the outdoor arena was closed nearly the whole day because no one came to clear off the fresh snowfall, Gilroy said. As a result, many families were only able to skate for 15 minutes before they were forced to make way for a group that had rented the ice, he said.McNiven said he had heard about the issue and that with fresh snow overnight it is often difficult to clean off the outdoor rink. He said there are a number of snow clearing priorities before the contractor cleans off the arena.“It’s always a challenge to get the equipment there right away to get it cleaned off,” he said. “Obviously we’d like to get it cleared off early in the morning.”
According to the management agreement between Recreation Excellence and the North Okanagan Regional District, either party can cancel the contract by giving one year’s notice. The agreement also states that the parties must enter into new contract negotiations by the end of April. The current contract is set to expire Jan. 1, 2009.A spokesperson for Recreation Excellence declined to comment on the maintenance issues and said that the North Okanagan Regional District would comment on their performance.
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