The city will help keep local curlers on ice next season.
City of Nanaimo councillors, at a finance meeting Wednesday, July 17, discussed needed repairs to the Nanaimo Curling Centre's refrigeration system, which freezes the ice sheets.
Mike Bryson, city facility and parks operations director, presented a report on the best options for replacing the curling club’s failed chiller and also reported on the overall condition of the aging Wall Street building.
According to city documents, the curling club operates under a co-management agreement with the city, which makes both parties responsible for portions of the club facility’s assets.
The curling club building was constructed in 1964 and the refrigeration plant is an ammonia-based system that has suffered a catastrophic failure in one of its key components.
“The curling club came up with several different options,” Bryson said. “One was to re-tube the existing chiller with a new set of tubes and put it back into service; very much the same unit that was there already with just new insides.”
The second option would be to purchase a new “plate and frame” chiller, which Bryson said is more efficient and “very expensive," which would also require a long time for installation and “could impact the club’s season greatly.”
“Another option they looked at [was] they were able to source another [used] plate and frame heat exchanger from a company on the mainland,” Bryson said. “This unit will work with the system we have for the curling club, so they're … looking to pursue that.”
He said the system has passed technical safety checks and could be installed in time for the upcoming season.
The overall cost for the unit and gaskets is $156,000, of which the Nanaimo Curling Club would pay $89,000 and the city would contribute the balance.
But the report, which referenced engineering, seismic and geotechnical assessments conducted between 2015 and 2022, also noted the curling centre building is 60 years old and several components are now “at a critical state and should be addressed as soon as possible” if the facility is to remain open. One of the major issues includes the facility's roof, which is leaking and deteriorating to the point where it will have to be replaced.
The building’s concrete slab, which is the foundation for the ice sheets, has also sunk in one corner and shows signs of numerous surface cracks and a “significant brine leak under the pad.”
Bryson said the curling club is dealing with the issues and maintaining the building, but the problems are a sign of the building’s advancing age and any renovations would need to meet current seismic code requirements.
Bryson said the refurbished plate and frame chiller, based on consultations with the refrigeration company and technical safety inspectors, will have a life span of at least 10 years.
Coun. Ian Thorpe asked if staff, at some point, planned to bring a report on the long the long-term viability of the Nanaimo Curling Centre building.
“Repair, replace, relocate? Because if we do nothing and just sort of do nothing and deal with emergencies as they come up, then were just going to find ourselves in a bigger hole down the road,” Thorpe said. “So, I’d be curious in long-term vision about that facility.”
Bryson said that would be the next step.
“A report would be needed to explore different options, whatever those look like, at whatever scale we choose to entertain as far as replacement or refurbishing or getting that facility up a code and an acceptable level to where it can be used in years to come,” he said.
The finance and audit committee recommended council provide $68,000 from the city’s strategic infrastructure reserve fund toward a refurbished plate and frame chiller for the curling centre.
