Council split as pricey arena sound system upgrades get the nod

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Town Council returned to the table on July 15 for another discussion about the poor acoustics in the community centre arena. Fire Chief Steve Munshaw told council that the sound system is by no means outdated, but the reverb in the building is excessive, creating a long echo. “Our biggest challenge within that arena is we have seven and half seconds of reverb, so once that noise has hit, it takes seven and a half seconds for that noise to stop making sound. So it doesn’t matter what sound system you were to place in front of you in that arena, you’re going to hear it for seven and a half seconds continuously.”

He said that the first step to improving the sound would be to install acoustic baffles or tiles in the building. The topic was last discussed in June, when Recreation Manager Brian Martin gave council several options for replacing the sound systems in both the auditorium and the arena. Council approved spending $2,880 to hire a sound engineer who would inspect the current system. However, at that time, the Town was grappling with a consultant’s estimate of more than $250,000 to install sound baffles and acoustic texturing on the walls and ceiling. During that June meeting, Coun. Bekkering said, “It seems to me that whether we go option one or two, or a combination of both, it would inevitably lead to a recommendation to spend $250,000 (to install baffles). There’s no doubt in my mind about that, so that’s what we have to discuss.”

Bekkering was correct in his prediction, and Munshaw laid out the new options on July 15, prioritizing the acoustic treatments. One was seeking grant money with the understanding that the Town would have to fund a portion of the cost and seek the rest through the Community Facility Enhancement Program or another grant. Another was to hold off and carry the project forward to the 2025 capital budget as a planned expense.

CAO Derrin Thibault gave an updated figure of $160,000 for ‘option one’ of installing the baffles in the ceiling. ‘Option two’ was for an enhanced installation that would include wall tiles, and was estimated at $196,000. Munshaw said that new acoustics could improve the sound drastically, muting the reverb to a two-and-a-half second echo or even further for theater-quality sound.

Most of the council had suggestions or questions about the options presented to them in the agenda. Coun. Sorensen said, “I would highly recommend that we search for grants to help support this project. If we’re going to put this much money into it, I would like to correct it and make it a facility that all of our citizens would be happy with.”

Coun. Brewin offered that he would prefer to see the project begin in 2024 before the price tag on the project increases in 2025. “Personally, I’d like to see this in place before the next hockey season coming up. Let’s get on this,” he said.  Munshaw said that starting soon could be an option, but, “Talking to the grant coordinator, there has to be some money set aside for committed funds before they’re able to find extra funds. Some grants out there don’t require that, but these are not those.”

About the more expensive option, Coun. Firth said, “It’s not going to give us theatre-quality sound, because it’s an arena. It’s never going to sound like you’re sitting in the Yates, and it’s not supposed to.” Coun. McLean was also hesitant to endorse extra spending on theatre-quality sound, but Brewin and Coun. Remfert were all for making the most out of the improvements.

The discussion carried on for some time without a motion emerging, and finally Coun. Remfert broke the apparent deadlock, saying, “If we’re going to ask for a grant, I don’t see why we don’t ask for the most.” He set forward a motion directing the administration to proceed with option two at a cost not to exceed $196,000 plus GST funded from capital reserves. Council split the vote with four in favour of it and three opposed to it. It was carried. The administration will now seek grant funding to cover the greatest possible percentage of that total.