The City of Kimberley will soon open the doors to the Civic Centre once again after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to close in March.
The City said the Centre will officially reopen on September 18th for ice time, and residents will be welcomed to use the walking track at specified times starting on September 21st.
Direction from the Provincial Health Officer, the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA), Recreation Facilities Association of British Columbia (RFABC), viaSport, and Sport BC guided the development of the reopening plan.
“The plan will ensure the highest safety standards and processes are adopted in order to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in our community. In addition to the typical protocols of hand washing, staying home if sick, and physical distancing, other safety measures specific to the Civic Centre are in place. Primarily, all user groups are required to submit their own safety plan to Civic Centre staff prior to being allowed to use the facility with the exception of walking track users,” said the City of Kimberley.
The City added that ice users will be required to suit up prior to entering and will have to wear their gear out of the building, as the change rooms and showers will be closed, however, space will be available inside for changing skates. As well, visitors must enter through the Mark Creek entrance and exit onto the parking lot on Rotary Drive.
A maximum of 50 people will be allowed in the building at any time, including facility staff, players, participants, and coaches. Visitors will be required to give contact information at each session.
As well, visitors are required to familiarize themselves with the City’s Civic Centre COVID-19 Safe Operations Plan found here, and sign a form indicating that they have read the document.
The City recommends visitors using its ice rink to familiarize themselves with their sporting bodies’ and local group’s safety plan prior to participating in any activity.
Visitors using the walking track are asked to use the accessibility entrance at the northeast corner of the building on Rotary Drive, they will also be required to provide their name and personal contact information for contact tracing purposes but are not required to submit a safety plan.
When the walking track is open, no other users will be allowed into the building.
The walking track will be open at the following times from Monday to Friday:
- Monday: 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
- Tuesday: 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
- Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Thursday: 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
- Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
“Ample time has been included on the Civic Centre schedule to ensure user groups are able to enter and exit the building safely between events and to give staff time to clean surfaces,” said the City.
Kimberley is expected to publish the full Civic Centre schedule soon, with an update on the status of the Aquatic Centre in early October.