The 63-year old Revelstoke Forum and Curling Club is past its prime. The roof doesn't meet the current codes for snow load, material supporting the roof is deteriorating, and Revelstoke's chief administrative officer wants to "aggressively pursue" building a new facility.

Evan Parliament says every public asset has a shelf life.

"In a perfect world this would have been done ten years ago," he said.

During the month of May, the city is asking the public to weigh in on what kind of facility they want to see built, and what uses they would want it to include.

Parliament requested council include funding in the 2023 budget to pay for a communication plan and consultant to start planning replacing the building, and he says a consultant has been hired.

The financial department requested council increase property taxes from three to five per cent for 2023. Three per cent goes to the city's operating costs, two per cent goes into an "arena replacement reserve," and compounds every year, Parliament said.

The Talk Revelstoke website presents the public with four options for a replacement:

Replace the roof and do renovations to keep the current Forum

At an estimated $25 - $35 million, this will cost as much or more than building a whole new facility, Parliament said. The building was built in the 1960s and once they start renovating it will mean updating the building to meet current codes, along with the cost of replacing the roof.

This isn't really an option, Parliament says, it's to show the true cost of renovating the building.

Players arena

This would have limited spectator seating and a bench for each hockey team, and would cost an estimated $25 - $35 million.

It's a "plain Jane arena," Parliament said, adding that it's not really an option for a town with the Grizzlies, a Junior B hockey team.

Spectators arena

This would cost an estimated $45 - $50 million  and have 1000-2000 seats.

"We want to build something more than just an arena," Parliament said.

Multi-purpose complex

This would have two to three times more seats than a spectators-only arena.

User groups should guide what else should be included, Parliament says. Running and walking tracks, a fitness centre, conference rooms.

This will cost an estimated $65 to $100 million dollars to construct, Parliament says.

Parliament has overseen many publicly-funded capital projects through to completion in his career, but never a multi-plex complex like he's encouraging the public to ask council for.

There is a rule of thirds in funding such projects, he says. One-third of the money comes internally, from property-tax funded reserves. One-third comes from external borrowing, also known as debt. One-third comes in the form of grants or investors.

Parliament says his experience has lead him to be good at finding investors, partners and grant funding to build public assets.

"My success in the past is bringing users together and saying, 'Dare to dream,'" he said.

The facility will be used by Canadian Pacific Rail and Revelstoke Mountain Resort employees, and taxpayers and tourists, Parliament said.

"You pitch it well and you're going to attract investors."

Along with the four options for types of facilities offered by the city on Talk Revelstoke, Parliament says that city council has a mandate to do what the public says, and people should come forward with suggestions on types of facility, costs, and locations.

He's hoping that by the end of May the public has given council a clear mandate on the type of building they want to see.

When the city borrows money externally and goes into debt, anything that's financed over five years requires public approval through a referendum. Those are often held at the same time as municipal elections, but the next one is in the fall of 2026.

Parliament hopes the city is breaking ground on a new facility before then, saying it would be "dangerous" to wait longer.

That literally means the roof isn't safe, and Parliament doesn't want to see it shut down before a new building is ready.

"We don't want minor hockey interrupted because the community waited to long," he said.

It's also risky because of the rising costs of construction.

After the public weighs in on the type of facility to build, Parliament says they'll figure out a location, but he says it's got to be a two acre plot, minimum. And he's hearing from people they don't want it on the periphery of the city, they want it close to downtown.

But he says they don't plan to build on the current Forum site, the idea would be to build somewhere else and transition use from the old to new building.

The city of Revelstoke is holding an open house about the Revelstoke Forum and Curling Club, at the Forum on Thursday, May 4 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Listen to a full interview with Evan Parliament here: