With the challenge of only one bid for a key job in the Kids Rink, Trail council agreed to increase the respective budget to $1.63+ million and award West Kootenay Mechanical a $1.52+ million contract to upgrade underfloor heat in the small rink and upgrade the building’s dehumidifier.
Two years ago, in consultation with engineering firms, the city completed an energy study to find ways to reduce energy use and emissions in the Trail Memorial Centre.
Two primary projects were eventually developed. The first is to replace the dehumidifier unit that serves the Cominco Arena and curling rink, and the second more significant investment is to install a heat recovery system that connects existing infrastructure to expelled heat from the building’s refrigeration plant.
The contract awarded during Monday night council will see the dehumidifier unit, controls and ducting replaced, as well as ammonia plant upgrades.
The ammonia plant upgrades are twofold, notes acting director of parks and recreation, David Moorhead.
This year, by installing the initial heat exchanger and associated infrastructure, foundations will be set for the bulk of work, which is installation of the heat recovery system. Phase two, the heat recovery project, is slated for 2025.
“In doing so, the underfloor heating system within the Kid’s Rink ice slab will be connected, and the heat will result from our plant emissions,” Moorhead explained in his report to council. “The energizing of the underfloor heat system is a necessary step in being able to keep the ice in for more extended periods in a year.”
Moorhead said the city established a required completion date of July 22, ensuring enough time for Trail Memorial Centre staff to create ice in the Cominco Arena for a long-established user group.
Within their proposal, he said West Kootenay Mechanical has committed to meeting that date.
Within the five-year-financial plan, $1,075,000 was budgeted for respective work, with a portion of this allocated for further design engineering work to ensure phase two of the heat recovery project proceeds as scheduled.
Staff requested the plan to be amended to $1.63+ million for 2024; $1,521,330 (exclusive of tax) for the proposed work, and an additional $117,000 for continued engineering work to prepare phase two.
The total for the project between both years is $4.1+ million; however, the city is in receipt of a CleanBC Communities Fund grant for $2.5 million to be used towards the project, leaving the municipality responsible for the remaining $1.63+ million.
“Staff continues reviewing further grant funding streams to decrease the burden borne by resident taxpayers,” Moorhead notes. “Using the data from previous energy studies and the expected greenhouse gas emission reductions with complimentary energy reliance reduction, we are hopeful that further funding will be available for this work.”