'We need to do something': Shawville residents fight to save local arena

Mike Rusenstrom remembers spending all his weekends playing hockey at the Shawville arena growing up.

But in the decades since it was built in 1960, Rusenstrom has watched as the rink's refrigeration system, boards and concrete base have aged far past their normal lifespan, with only minor repairs made along the way.

"When you turn the switch on for that ice plant, if it doesn't fire up, it doesn't matter how much money you've invested in your dressing room," Rusenstrom said, adding he believes the arena's value should be measured by more than "just dollars and cents."

As many as 200 minor hockey players and 115 figure skaters use the rink from September to April, Rusenstrom said. Without the arena, he said, those families would have to drive a long way to find another facility.

"You start looking at the social return on investment of having like that hub of something within the community," he said.

Still, Rusenstrom acknowledged the estimated $2-million renovation is too much for Shawville to take on alone. That's why he and a committee formed to save the arena have started fundraising and looking for support from the surrounding community and other levels of government.

Through conversations with government officials, Rusenstrom estimates the community will have to fund about a third, approximately $700,000, of the project on its own, something the committee hopes to do over the next two years.

"You don't want to get caught that all of the sudden it's like 'Hey, there's money available from the government,' but all we have is shortfall because we didn't start acting soon enough," Rusenstrom said.

'Badly needed' in the community

Jerry Barber of Petro Pontiac said he's confident the community will raise the money, adding that he can't imagine Shawville without the arena.

"The arena includes everyone," Barber said. "Recreation is an important part of a community just like hospitals are and schools."

Café 349 owner Ruth Smiley-Hahn said the arena is "badly needed" in the community.

"It's a huge area for the local fair and Canada Day festivities," Smiley-Hahn said.

Mayor Bill McCleary said the Shawville arena is "living on borrowed time."

"The day is coming (when) it's just gonna go, boom. You won't have ice," McCleary said.

Bu, he added, the situation Shawville finds itself in isn't unique in Quebec.

"Arenas all across the province are struggling," he said. "The climate in Quebec right now — they're making cuts. They're not doing funding."

McCleary said he's hopeful that higher levels of government will take notice if they see support from the broader community.

"You have to have an arena," he said. "If you don't have an arena, what do your kids do in the wintertime?"

Rusenstrom's committee has organized fundraisers scheduled to take place over the summer.

He said he, too, is hopeful they will raise the money, adding the community has a history of supporting the arena through the years.

"We know that we need to do something," he said.