Council approves loan to repair ailing ice plant
With the eyes of the curling world set to turn to Penticton for two major events in the next six months, the local club will be hurrying hard to perform emergency repairs to its ice-making equipment.
City council on Tuesday agreed to provide a loan of up to $45,000 to help fix the club’s 42-year-old ice plant, following a plea from manager Cathy Jones. “Last year alone, our plant failed 15 times,” she said. Jones said the club has already sunk $7,400 into the equipment for repairs this summer, but was advised by the technician not to throw any more good money after bad.
She asked for help coming up with $89,000 by Sept. 1 to completely overhaul the ice plant, but council later voted unanimously to follow a staff recommendation to lend half that amount for a more bare-bones repair job that will get the equipment operational and ensure a backup system is in place.
It won’t be the long-term fix the club sought, but will provide a “longer-term solution,” Jones said afterwards, before going on to praise city council and staff for helping the club in its time of need.
“They’ve absolutely stepped up to the plate,” she said.
Mitch Moroziuk, the city’s general manager of infrastructure, said the club leases the rink from the municipality for $1 per year, and the agreement calls for the club to look after the ice plant.
“I can comment, however, that this isn’t the first occurrence we’ve had where we’ve had a tenant looking after one of our buildings where we’ve had to step in,” Moroziuk added.
Terms of the loan will be settled later, and will need to be ratified by both council and the curling club’s executive.
In her presentation to council, Jones noted the club is set to host a World Curling Tour cash spiel Nov. 36 that will attract 24 of the top men’s rinks from around the globe, including those skipped by the likes of Kevin Koe and Mike McEwen.
“Professional curlers will continue to come back year after year if they’re playing on good ice. This event can also grow up to 32 teams and we intend to have this event annually,” said Jones, who estimated the economic impact at $106,000.
The ice will also be put to use as a practice facility during the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which will see Canada’s top women’s rinks vie for a national title from Jan. 27 to Feb. 4 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.