The County of Grande Prairie Historic Resources Committee will be tasked with coming up with some suggestions for the Hythe Arena after county councillors balked at the idea of looking to push a provincial historical designation on the facility.
Reeve Leanne Beaupre says while The Village of Hythe was in the process of obtaining the provincial designation prior to being brought into the county fold, it simply makes more sense to keep the designation off the table.
“When it doesn’t have that provincial designation on it, there are more opportunities to do maintenance, some renovations, repairs, than there is if there is a provincial designation on it,” she says.
“Specifically, because they’re trying to maintain the integrity of the existing structure.
Beaupre says as the arena is operating and functional, in the event that something should happen to it, it becomes a fixture that has no purpose, other than for historical value. She adds the Grande Prairie Historic Resources Committee have been asked to look at the building possibly falling under Municipal Historic Resource designation instead.
“I don’t say that lightly, I think council had a long discussion about how we could maintain that history and relevance, and integrity of the site without putting a designation on that,” she says.
“I think there is an opportunity to have the best of both worlds, both for residents and the Hamlet of Hythe,” she adds.
The Hythe Arena has been operating since 1950.