For the first time since RIM Park opened, it’s in need of a turf replacement.
In general, the type of turf used at the Waterloo facility is expected to last for 13 years.
“This (turf) is already 15 years old,” said Sunda Siva, the city’s director of facilities and fleets.
Already, Siva says, RIM Park’s indoor field is starting to show signs of unevenness.
The city plans to spend $600,000 to install new turf, as well as an additional $140,000 to upgrade washrooms at the site.
A report going to council Monday night recommended paying for the turf out of an infrastructure reserve fund.
Coun. Bob Mavin says he’s not sure that’s the best way to do it.
“Given the lifecycle of the turf … that should be something that’s funded from normal capital operations,” he said before council met to discuss the issue.
Mavin said he also wanted to see a report on the income generated through the facility, the outcome of which may result in changes to how the city subsidizes certain groups using it.
In each of the past four years, the cost of operating RIM Park has been about $1 million more than the revenues received through the facility.
