A suggestion to install ice in the CAP Arena earlier than has been done in the past, to make it available for use sooner in the hockey season, had two seasoned councillors speaking out strongly against such a move during the May 17 Committee of the Whole meeting.
After a lengthy discussion, council members reached the consensus that an earlier opening of the CAP Arena was likely cost prohibitive and too hard on an already aging ice plant.
CAO Kim Heyman relayed information from a recent Rec. Board meeting discussion where it was noted the St. Paul Ag. Society could give up using the CAP Arena during the LRA Rodeo Finals, to accommodate earlier installation of ice in that facility.
Coun. Ron Boisvert, who is also chair of the CAP Committee, said the facility's ice plant is old and the additional wear and tear will only further shorten its life. He also questioned if the Town is willing to take on the extra costs of firing up the ice plant in August, noting the colder the weather, the easier it is on the plant.
"When you're dealing with a small plant, it is very tough on the plant, especially when it's warm," Boisvert said. "High usage (of the CAP) doesn't come until November most of the time. We used it one summer for a hockey school. It cost us $14,000 for two weeks and we could have lost up to seven years of lifetime on the plant, we were told."
"If you look at starting that plant up in August, you will be replacing that plant in no time," Coun. Gary Ward noted. "I've been doing ice scheduling for 18 years, and it's always started after Thanksgiving. Basically, there's one user group that needs to have the ice early and they go out (of town) and rent and that's the Junior B's."
Heyman said the recommendation coming from the Rec. Board was to "try it this season" and see what the response is, but based on the comments from council, "I think there's a lot of misinformation out there."
Coun. Tyson deMoissac asked if the arena was open earlier, would more users perhaps come forward to take advantage of the ice? But Ward was not convinced there'd be enough of an interest to cover the cost of running the plant early.
Boisvert said the existing plant is at least 15 years old and cost about $200,000. While a new plant is on the wish list for the CAP Arena, it's not something planned for in the near future. Estimates for an ice plant run in the neighbourhood of half-a-million dollars.
"We've had discussions about having to save money for another plant, because we know its coming."
Chamber improvements
Council members were asked to give their input on improvements they see as being the top priorities for the Town of St. Paul Council chambers during the Committee of the Whole Meeting May 17.
With $25,000 set aside in this year's budget for upgrades to the council chambers, councillors were presented with a proposed list from which to establish priorities but were also encouraged to make recommendations for items they felt may be missing.
Proposed improvements include lighting, paint, secure drawers, bookcase for library resources, electrical outlets for charging devices, projector/smartboard, gallery chairs, delegation table, podium, microphones and meeting management software with live streaming.
Council members will each send their list of priorities to administration for review.
