Officials with the Municipality of the District of Guysborough will operate the Canso Arena moving forward.
Members of the Canso and Area Arena Commission say they’ve faced ever-increasing costs, especially during COVID-19.
They say restrictions have negatively impacted fundraising efforts and prevented their major source of income with the cancellation of Stanfest.
Commission members say they’ve decided to dissolve, and hand management of the facility to municipal officials.
After May’s regular municipal council meeting Wednesday afternoon, Vernon Pitts, the warden of Guysborough, said the move makes sense.
“It’s a recreation facility,” he said. “I think it’s imperative that our recreation forces operate and maintain it.”
Pitt said they already handle all other recreation facilities across the municipality, including the Chedabucto Lifestyle Complex in Guysborough.
He said Canso residents deserve the same level of service.
“They shouldn’t be given any less service than what the people of Guysborough would receive,” he said. “We’ll maybe end up enhancing their service a bit; if not, if we can just maintain current service levels.”
Pitts said the decision was mutual.
He said the idea of municipal officials operating the facility has been on the table for a couple of years.
