A new Zamboni is set to arrive at the Jasper Arena any day now, but because of construction delays, the municipality has nowhere to put it.
The new Zamboni—which operates on natural gas—is a larger model than the municipality’s current propane-operated machine and, as a result, the Zamboni room needs to be renovated, increasing the height of the ceiling and moving the boiler system that’s located above the ceiling.
According to Yvonne McNabb, director of culture and recreation, the renovations need to be completed by Sept. 15 to ensure there is no affect on the hockey season.
The construction delays are the result of numerous challenges. For one, the municipality hasn’t yet received a construction permit from Parks Canada and it’s engineer’s drawings haven’t yet been approved. Adding to the problem is the municipality needs to find a new home for the boiler system.
The plan is to construct a fire-proof boiler room beneath the bleachers, but that will encroach on the temporary library, which is awaiting the completion of the library and cultural centre, set to open Oct. 2.
“We need to use a portion of their space,” explained McNabb during the Aug. 18 council meeting, adding that the new boiler room will house not only the boiler, but a water conditioning system and a furnace that will heat the temporary library.
McNabb said the library is being cooperative and has offered to close down for a couple of days to allow for construction to take place, but that may not be enough, as construction may turn out to be more extensive than just moving furniture and building a room.
“We may also have to go all the way down the entire library corridor to develop a drain,” said McNabb. “That means chopping up the cement and putting in a drain in their existing library area.
“We’re hoping that’s not the case, but until the contractor actually comes in and starts ripping apart the walls to determine where the drainage goes, we’re not going to know whether or not the boiler is going to have enough capacity to drain with the existing drain.
“So we’ve got a few complications that are coming up. But, we’re pushing forward and we’re really trying to get this done in a timely fashion, because if we don’t there are some significant impacts that could occur.”
Included in those is a loss of revenue if the municipality has to cancel any hockey tournaments.
McNabb said worst case scenario, if construction doesn’t get completed this year, the municipality will have to continue using its old machine until it dies and if it dies, a rental will have to come in and finish the season.
A rental costs $250 per day, for an estimated $67,500 cost for the entire season.
That doesn’t compare, however, to the loss the municipality would see if it closed the arena. One season would account for a $234,370 loss in revenue to the municipality and a loss of $1.5 million for the community, in terms of lost hotel rooms and tourist dollars.
The municipality’s current Zamboni—a ‘95 with more than 11,000 hours of use—has been a thorn in the arena manager’s side for a number of years, with constant breakdowns and repairs taking a significant amount of his time.
Those issues were exacerbated in January 2014 when a fire broke out in the Zamboni room, causing damage to the machine.
That summer, the Zamboni was returned to Jasper after being repaired in the city, but it still wasn’t fixed and required additional repairs, which were handled locally.
Prior to the fire, the municipality had already planned to purchase a new Zamboni to replace its 20-year-old machine; the fire just accelerated the process.
The natural gas machine, which will significantly reduce the emissions created each time the ice is cleaned, was ordered last year.
Originally, the culture and recreation department planned to have staff complete the construction project, but it was later determined a contractor would be needed to do the job, so engineer’s drawings were drafted and the project was put out to tender.
In order to cover the additional cost, council supported a motion Aug. 18 to reallocate funds from the capital budget toward the Zamboni room project.
The roof top heating and cooling unit that was slated for the squash and racquet ball courts will now be purchased in 2016, freeing up $103,000.
The reallocation will ensure the Zamboni room can be completed in 2015 without a budget increase.
Nicole Veerman
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