The federal government has pledged $1.4 million for five projects in Halton Hills.
The funding will go toward upgrading Halton Hills’ two major hockey arenas, as well as providing signage for tourists in high-traffic areas throughout the municipality.
An announcement was held at the Acton Arena and Community Centre on Friday morning (Jan. 13), and the usual Halton Hills stakeholders and politicians were there.
“A large part of this $1.4 million will support facility retrofits, which is integral to the town to meet its climate change targets,” Mayor Ann Lawlor told the gathered crowd.
“It's also about health and about how we have clean air in our facility,” said Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield, who attended on behalf of Federal Economic Development Minister Filomena Tassi.
A large portion of the money from the Canada Community Revitalization Fund will be spent on upgrading dehumidifiers at Mold-Masters SportsPlex ($428,070) and the Acton Arena ($370,000).
The current gas-operated dehumidifiers will be replaced with electrical ones.
They will be accompanied by new heat recovery technology, with $321,930 being allocated to each facility for the upgrade.
“They have something called a free dry technology,” Manager of Facilities Stephen Hamilton told HaltonHillsToday.
Much in the same way as the area behind a household refrigerator, the machinery used to create ice on a rink generates immense heat.
“In all arenas, that is expelled into the atmosphere. We use a cooling tower, water and fans to expel that heat. We’re now taking that heat, boosting it and using it to power the dehumidifiers.”
The remaining $17,500 of federal funding – coming from Ottawa’s Tourism Relief Fund – will pay for signage around town for tourists.
The signs will go in seven high-traffic pedestrian areas throughout Halton Hills, such as the downtown cores of Acton and Georgetown and local conservation areas. The signs are designed to be eye-catching, simplified, resistant to sun fading and easy to clean if covered in graffiti.
Economic development and tourism officer Allison Nap said the goal is to let visitors know about local places and amenities available to them.
“There are a lot of hidden gems and a lot of small businesses that people don't know about,” she noted.
The dehumidifiers were designed by Efficiency Engineering and will be installed by Simcoe Refrigeration. The Town hopes to complete the work by either September or October without interruption of ice time. The tourism signs are targeted for a March installation.
The press conference came on the heels of another, similar announcement by Tassi in Dundas this week, when she pledged $7.5 million towards 31 projects across the Golden Horseshoe.
