Council to OK loan to curling club

City councillors are due to meet for a special session this afternoon to approve a $45,000 interest-free loan to the Penticton Curling Club.

Approved in principle earlier this month, the loan will allow the club to repair and upgrade its ice-making equipment, which is 42 years old and failing.

“A reliable ice system is imperative for the club to continue to attract worldclass events like the Scotties Tournament of Hearts coming to Penticton next year, and the World Curling (Tour) in a few months,” city lands administrator Peter Wallace wrote in his report to council.

“These events promote shoulder and off-season tourism.”

Wallace is recommending the loan be amortized over five years, with monthly payments of $750. Interest, at a rate of prime plus three per cent, would only be charged on delinquent payments.

Curling club manager Cathy Jones told council Aug. 15 that the ice plant failed 15 times last season.

She said the club had already sunk $7,400 into the equipment this summer, when the repair technician warned that further fixes would be a waste of money.

The club leases the rink from the City of Penticton for $1 per year under an agreement that calls for the tenant to look after the ice plant. However, council heard it’s not unusual for the city to be asked to help one of its non-profit tenants.

The World Curling Tour cash spiel Nov. 3-6 is expected to attract to the club 24 of the top men’s rinks from around the globe, including those skipped by the likes of Kevin Koe and Mike McEwen.

The club will also be pressed into service 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.