The MD of Foothills is helping to ensure horse enthusiasts can continue to saddle up in a facility that has been an old friend to local 4-H, riding and rodeo clubs.
MD council voted unanimously on Feb. 24 to give $50,000 to the Okotoks Agricultural Society to fix the roof and some siding at the Hebson Arena just north of Okotoks.
“It is a unique facility out there and we want to save it from further deterioration, such as from mould,” said MD Reeve Larry Spilak. “I know the Okotoks Ag Society finds time for our 4-H clubs to go out there… They have been very good to the community.”
The cost to repair the roof and siding at the Hebson Arena is $150,000. The MD of Foothills will contribute $50,000, while the ag society will also pay $50,000 which will be matched by a $50,000 Alberta Community Incentive Fund grant.
The MD also indicated it would lend the ag society some funds, if needed, in order to reach the $50,000 to receive the matching grant.
Ag society board member Robert Klein said the arena needs to be reroofed as well as do some repair work on the end walls, and some insulation work will also be done.
It’s just a tune-up and the arena is still being used.
“It is just showing some age,” Klein said. “The shingles are in desperate need of being done… I certainly think it’s a worthwhile project and the MD has always been supportive of us.”
Klein said he hopes the work will be completed in the spring and be ready for the busy summer season.
Hebson Arena is at least 35 years old as it was built before the ag society purchased the property in 1976. It is now used to complement the newer arena, the Agriplex.
“The Hebson is used as a back-up when the newer arena is in use,” Klein said. “When we hold a large event at the new arena, the Hebson is used where people can warm-up for the event.”
He said there is also a 4-H riding group that uses the Hebson Arena.
The MD of Foothills will be taking the $50,000 out of its recreation fund, which presently has $1.7 million in its coffers.
A history of the Hebson Arena and the ag society will be on display for at the Okotoks Ag Society’s Winterfest on March 6 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
