If you've found yourself feeling chilly in the hallways of Memorial Gardens this year, this might be why.
The community centre's steam boilers have reached the end of their useful life and, on Monday, City Council unanimously awarded a $469,000 contract to Bernard Rochefort Limited to install a new hot water boiler.
But with only $385,000 originally set aside for the project, the city is having to dip into their completed general capital projects reserve fund to offset the balance.
“Although we do have discretionary reserves that are available to top up that dollar amount, we will from time-to-time unfortunately see these things occur and I fully suspect that we will see more things like this in the coming future,” said Community Services chair Coun. Mark King.
“This is unfortunate, but things happen at large buildings such as the Gardens,” he added. “The boilers are no longer functioning and we have literally no choice but to replace them.”
The building currently has two steam boilers that provide heat to all dressing rooms, concourses and the front lobby.
But according to city staff, one of them has stopped working entirely and the other is at significant risk of shutting down soon.
Replacing the steam boiler and piping to hot water will also enhance the efficiency and heat control, resulting in a lower energy demand and decreased operating costs.
However, King was quick to remind his colleagues and the public that this likely won’t be the last significant upgrade to the Gardens.
“There’s a lot of work that’s gone into the Gardens," said King. "We were at $16.2 million after the last construction process and we’ve done a number of things since then - sound systems, painted the ceiling, and we will be putting in an 80-foot long curtain on the North end of the building that will be part and parcel of the concert opportunity.
“If you look at the north end of the building, there is one section very, very high up that wasn’t redone and there’s some work that needs to be done there,” he added. “What we’re trying to do at this point is get this fully involved so that we can really work on the concert process.”
He also alluded to remedial work that will have to be done to the south end parking lot, including tree removal and changes to the drainage system to expand the parking space.
But King said he remains optimistic about upcoming events and announcements, while continuing to bring the building towards its final form.
“I can tell you at this point that there will be further announcements; I know of one in December at this point,” he said. “Of course, we have the circus coming shortly and hopefully the women’s curling, which is an absolutely huge event.
“Those are the kind of things that we have to use that building for,” he added. “The arena is a hot point and has been a hot point for a lot of years, so hopefully we’re at that point where we can start to use it for what it was meant to be used for.”
