The City of Port Alberni will have to replace the ice chiller at the Alberni Valley Multiplex just six years after they spent thousands of dollars to install it. And a replacement could cost as much as $600,000.
The chiller suffered its second "catastrophic failure" in six years on April 13, and after an ammonia leak was detected the chiller was shut down and the Multiplex was closed. Each failure was unrelated to the other.
The tube and shell chiller was installed in spring of 2019 and in November of 2019 suffered a serious ammonia leak. The ice was lost in both rinks and multiple cracks on the exterior shell of the chiller were discovered. Repairs took more than three weeks.
This time the ice was again lost in both rinks, and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs were forced to relocate to Nanaimo in the middle of their B.C. Hockey League playoffs.
Willa Thorpe, Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture, told city council on April 28 that the chiller cannot be fixed. She asked council to approve a plan to rent a plate and frame chiller for one year so the ice can be put back into the arena in time for West Coast Prep Camp in the summer and the following hockey season.
Thorpe laid out three options for a rented plate and frame chiller: rent one for a total cost of $485,000 (which would include an expansion after the first year); rent a chiller for up to a year and then buy a replacement for a cost of $735,000 to $835,000; or replace the chiller with a new one at a cost of $595,000.
If the chiller were to be replaced with a new one the Multiplex would have to be closed for a few months.
Waiting for a new chiller to be built and then installed will delay the start of hockey season, and would affect all the users who count on the ice rinks in the summer, including the month-long Prep Camp. Hundreds of hockey players, coaches, officials and family members come to the Alberni Valley for Prep Camp and many of those travel arrangements were made months ago, acting mayor Debbie Haggard said.
It is already going to cost the city $45,000 to "hit the reset button," Thorpe said, because they have to dispose of brine from both rinks.
Council agreed to spend $485,000 to rent a chiller and have it installed for a year, then expand it the following off-season.
Thorpe said staff members are still looking into warranty and insurance claims, and that the replacement costs are "worst-case scenario" if they don't receive money from an insurance claim.
