INNISFAIL - A breakdown in the Innisfail Twin Arena's aging ice plant has forced the closure of the red ice surface, causing user groups to scramble to adjust their season's budgets and schedules for games, practices and tournaments.
Town council was told about the breakdown at the Arena at its regular meeting on Oct. 11, the same day user groups were scheduled to begin using the facility for the new winter sports season. Local user groups are meeting tonight at 6 p.m. at the Arena with town officials to work out a new schedule for the still operating blue ice surface, one that will likely see a shuffling of start times for games, as well as doubling up younger teams for practices.
“Any time you take an ice surface out of play it creates a large inconvenience,” said Henry Wong, the town's director of community services. “The (minor hockey) leagues have scheduled their league games and tournaments with the thought we would have that second sheet in operation as of today (Oct. 11). With the news that broke last week they have had to make alternative plans.”
Despite the unsettling news, the Innisfail Minor Hockey Association, the Arena's largest user group, is not panicking.
“They (town officials) have been really good to deal with. I know the building is getting older and those kinds of things happen,” said Brett Kelly, vice-president of the association, adding two or three atom teams will be practising together on the blue ice surface. “This has happened in other towns. We are not in dire straights by any means. Is it a minor inconvenience? Yes, it is a minor inconvenience, but we can move on working forward with the town.”
Wong told council the chiller, a key ice plant component that exchanges heat between one refrigerant and another – was discovered on Oct. 5 to be no longer viable for the red ice surface, which has been in working order since the Arena opened 28 years ago independently from the Arena's blue ice surface.
“We don't want to say the entire ice plant broke down. All the other parts are still working, but it's just the part (chiller) where the heat exchange takes place is where the issue is,” said Wong, noting that while the ice plant's other two major components -- compressors and condenser – are fully operational the ice plant won't work without a working chiller. “We can't reasonably make ice now.”
He told council staff has already begun the process to rent a temporary portable ice plant for the red ice surface, one that will cost at least $6,500 a month. Wong said it could be up and running by the beginning of December, but added the town still has to determine whether there is enough electrical power with the existing transformer to add a secondary ice plant operation. If not, council members were told a generator could be brought in to provide more power to run the portable ice plant, which would add more cost to the temporary fix.
Wong said he will be canvassing refrigeration companies for a new modern chiller, which would be a permanent solution and cost as much as $300,000. He said the new unit would service both the red and blue ice surfaces, the latter now successfully operating with a unit that is as old as the one that broke down for the red ice surface. He said having a new unit, which would have to be designed and built, is a lengthy process that will not be completed until the fall of 2017.
Wong said he's hoping to have more detailed information for user groups tonight that would provide clarity on strategies as they move forward in the season. The community services director has contacted other municipalities that Innisfail user groups could be approaching about using their facilities. However, he added two communities – Sylvan Lake and Red Deer – have recently reduced the number of available ice surfaces.
“There is already a pinch on the system in the region. I am not sure exactly how Red Deer and Sylvan are doing their ice uses right now but this is just adding to the issue,” said Wong. “I guess Plan B is to see if we can find ice time for the users in other facilities, but then again another question is whether user groups want to go to Bowden, Penhold or Spruce View.”
In the meantime, Mayor Brian Spiller said he has no problem with the town spending at least $6,500 a month to bring in a temporary portable chiller while working on bringing in a contractor to design and build a new permanent unit.
“By bringing in a temporary (chiller) we can get that second surface up. It is going to cost us a little extra money, but that shows the community that we are dedicated to providing these services,” said Spiller, adding the town is fortunate the expense is coming before council begins budget deliberations for next year. “If this happened in January or February and we already passed our budget we would be scrambling. We know now that we have to budget this for that next year, and if we have to do something temporary between now and then, that is part of the game.”
Henry Wong, director of community services
"Any time you take an ice surface out of play it creates a large inconvenience. The (minor hockey) leagues have scheduled their league games and tournaments. With the news that broke last week they have had to make alternative plans."
