Council recently voted down administration's recommended purchase of a used ice resurfacing machine for the Sundre Arena.
"We're now in a position where we need to replace the existing Olympia," said Vic Pirie, director of corporate services, during a special meeting in July attended by councillors Cheri Funke, Paul Isaac, Chris Vardas, Verna McFadden and Myron Thompson.
The municipality has been setting money aside in a specific reserve for several years that has accumulated about $110,000, and the capital budget called for the unit to be replaced in a couple of years, he said.
"One of the things we were looking at doing was replacing it with an electric ice machine so we wouldn't have to deal with any of the noxious fumes ó the carbon monoxide ó that comes off of the propane (machine)."
But similar to aircraft, an ice resurfacing unit's lifespan is largely determined by the number of hours its motor has run. And since the existing machine, while still operational, has been experiencing occasional repairs and downtime after clocking more hours than the manufacturer's recommendation, administration looked into the possibility of acquiring a reasonably priced used propane machine that would still give the municipality another decade's worth of operation at a cost of about $60,000 plus GST, he said.
That would also allow the municipality to use some of the additional money that was set aside in the reserve to install a circulating fan and ensure noxious emissions from the propane resurfacer are properly ventilated, he said, adding the existing machine would be retained as a backup and stored at the town's shop.
"It's not like a trade-in. We would continue to have the old machine in the event that the new one breaks down; we're not scrambling to try to find a machine to replace it on a temporary basis."
To initiate a discussion on the matter, Coun. Verna McFadden moved administration's recommended motion to approve the purchase of the used 2008 Olympia Millennium model as well as to move ahead with buying a fresh air exchange system for the arena at a cost of $12,000 plus taxes, covered by the reserve.
Coun. Chris Vardas, acting chair in the mayor's absence, mentioned previous conversations he once had with the Calgary Flames about the possibility of obtaining a used ice resurfacing machine from that organization, which has made available its older units to smaller municipalities at a really affordable rate.
For the sake of comparison, however, Vardas wanted to know the cost of a brand new machine.
"In regards to the Calgary Flames, we actually did contact them," said Pirie, adding nothing was available at the time of the request.
"Whatever units they have had already been allocated."
The municipality is building its reserve up to $160,000 for a new unit, which is roughly the cost of a new electric ice resurfacer, he said, adding a new propane model would run up about $120,000.
"We had it scheduled in our capital budget to be replaced in a couple of years, why are we rushing it to get it down now?" asked Vardas, to which Pirie cited the mounting maintenance costs of the current model that has been starting to "break down on a frequent basis."
Additionally, buying an electric model would have eliminated the need to deal with a propane model's emissions, so the hope was to put off the purchase to allow sufficient time to raise enough money by 2020 for the electric unit, said Pirie.
In terms of the air exchange system, Isaac expressed concerns over previous efforts by the Sundre Minor Hockey Association to help research what was needed as well as to pay for such a new setup. Although the councillor agreed a new air circulation system is needed at the arena, he was not quite prepared to support the motion.
"This is important for us to do, but I'm not sure if I'm very eager to say yes because of that background," he said.
Council did not carry the recommended motion, and administrator Linda Nelson said staff would further research the issue to present another potential option during the Aug. 28 meeting.
"The reason that this came forward is we were trying to take advantage of purchasing a good used machine," she said.
"So this opportunity may not be available to us again by the end of August."
