A new warm up building is coming to Westview Outdoor Rink.

A tender report brought forward at an Estevan City Council meeting Monday night revealed plans for the new initiative, which was originally part of the pathway project from last year.

"This is really a consolidation point of a lot of things in that area," said City Manager Jeff Ward. "The outdoor rink will be there...so obviously it'll be a warm up shack where people can put on their skates and warm up on cold days. But we also made sure that the pathway was connected, so it'll have a washroom facility. So as you're using the pathway system, it'll connect right into that Westview building, so it'll be a real hub of that area."

Ward said he expects the new facility to be ready by this December. 

"We are hoping for construction before December of this year...obviously with supply chain issues and stuff, nothing can be guaranteed in this day and age, but that is the plan this year. So they'll be able to use it this winter, assuming that there's no issues coming," Ward said.

The city's manager of leisure services, parks, and facilities, Rod March, is overseeing the project. In his tender report to council, March recommended that the city go with B & S Construction Ltd., at a cost of $168,930 plus taxes. The city also received submissions from both Sector 1 and Rock Solid Landscaping, both of which were well over $200,000.

"As long as they can continue to deliver on the tender that was submitted, we should be good to go," Ward said.

The existing building will be torn down.

Ward added that there are also more long-term plans to replace the swimming pool in the area with a community garden.

Swimming poolThe swimming pool, located next to the skating rink, is also scheduled to be replaced in the future. (Photo credit: Nolan Kowal)