Rink repairs on schedule
Repairs at the troubled Seymour-Hannah complex are on schedule with the pouring of concrete at one of the rinks Thursday, city officials say.
The four-pad on St. Paul Street West is undergoing a $4 million fix over the next two years to deal with heaving ice pads.
Phil Cristi, acting director of parks, recreation and culture services, said the companies involved in the construction project are doing what they’re supposed to do and working toward the city’s deadlines.
Rink 4 is slated to open in midSeptember and Rink 1 in mid-October.
“We’re hopeful that they’re going to come in earlier than that so we have more time to prep the ice and all that kind of stuff, but we are working towards those dates we originally set,” Cristi said.
Concrete was poured in Rink 4, which has been closed since the spring, on Thursday.
Grantham Coun. Bill Phillip, who sits on a task force with St. Andrew’s Coun. Matthew Harris and city staff to oversee repairs at the complex, said the work so far has been very labour intensive. The contractor laid out 50,000 feet of plastic PVC pipe by hand on the floor for the cooling system, he said.
“I’m very confident the job we’re getting now is a first class job,” said Phillips.
The task force was approved by council in November to keep a close eye on work done and avoid a repeat of current problems.
The $21.3 milllion SeymourHannah Sports and Entertainment Centre opened at 240 St. Paul Street West in September 2005.
Ten years later in spring 2015, city staff discovered a bump in the ice in Rink 4 and another bump in Rink 3, both caused by the concrete pads heaving.
It’s believed the heaving occurred because the underfloor heating system was disconnected years ago to prevent glycol leaking in to the ground.
A report to council said the city couldn’t isolate the underground glycol leak, so the heating system was shut down.
In November 2015, city councillors approved spending $4 million to fix the problems over this summer and next. Because Rinks 1 and 2 are share the lines with Rinks 4 and 3, all four rinks will receive isolated heating systems so they can be fixed in isolation in the future.
City council has asked for a report on who authorized the decommissioning of the glycol loop and whether previous councils knew about the problems.
Coun. Matt Harris said he’s asked city staff to investigate filing an insurance claim for the repairs.
He said ultimately it could save the city money and an insurance adjuster would come in to investigate what went wrong.
“Hopefully our insurance carrier will look into it and maybe this will save us taxpayer money,” Harris said.
The current work, meanwhile, has been time consuming and tedious and he has no complaints.
“I’ve been impressed with their quality of work, workmanship and attention to detail.”