Engineers studying a hump in the ice in a Seymour-Hannah rink have found so many deficiencies, it’s going to cost up to $4 million to fix the facility.

The city’s decade-old four-pad has had problems with its under floor heating system from the get-go and it’s the cause of the recent closure of one rink.

City council will be asked Monday to issue a request for proposals for rink repairs and authorize using $2 million in the 2016 capital budget and $2 million in the 2017 capital budget to pay for it.

The city had to close Rink 4 in the spring after staff noticed a hump in the ice surface. The city removed the ice and discovered the hump was in the concrete and was over 60 mm high.

There’s also a hump in Rink 3, but the ice is still in so it’s not known how significant it is.

Kalos Engineering was brought in to assess the situation and any potential future problems in the facility.

A report to council says the engineering firm identified multiple deficiencies, some of which require immediate attention and others that can be fixed over time.

Mayor Walter Sendzik said it’s not a case of whether or not the rinks should be fixed — it has to be done.

“It’s beyond the control of this current council,” Sendzik said. “It’s been an issue that has been evolving for a number of years now, and unfortunately something that we have to deal with as a community today. It’s a structural issue and it’s an expense that we have to incur.”

The building, which was under construction in 2004, is at its half life and there’s no warranty anymore. Sendzik said 25 years is what you normally get out of building before doing major capital maintenance.

“Ours is at the 12-year mark which is unfortunate, but the goal is to get those pads on as quickly as possible,” he said. “Thankfully we didn’t close the Jack and Rex Stimers because there’d be a lot of youth sports in hockey that would be impacted if we had closed those two.”

The $21.3 million complex at 240 St. Paul Street West opened in September 2005.

The report to council says the city noticed problems with the under floor heating system shortly after commissioning the facility because it was losing too much glycol.

Ultimately a leak was discovered and several attempts were made to isolate the leak. When those didn’t work, the city disconnected the under floor heating system to prevent more glycol going into the ground and prevent further damage.

But under floor heating helps prevent the penetration of frost below the rink which can build up and heave the concrete, as well as damage refrigeration piping and lead to foundation structural damage.

It’s that frost that’s caused the concrete in Rinks 3 and 4 to heave.

David Oakes, St. Catharines director of parks, recreation and culture services, said he’s trying to find out how many years ago the problems were discovered and when the underground heating was shut off.

The engineering consultant found leaks in the under floor heating systems in Rinks 1 and 3.

But because Rink 1 shares piping with Rink 4 and Rink 2 shares piping with Rink 3, the under floor heating problems can’t be fixed in isolation.

City staff are recommending Rinks 3 and 4 be replaced with new concrete and all rinks get their own underground heating systems that can be controlled individually.

They also recommend adding a Leak Seal to the under floor system in an effort to minimize further damage to pads 1 and 2. Leak Seal is a product that runs through the pipes to seal leaks temporarily.

Rink 4 and 1 would undergo work in 2016 and Rinks 3 and 2 in 2017.

“We’re hoping the closure is just for the summer season so we should be able to accommodate the users over that period,” Oakes said. “If it goes into the fall session, we’ll have another issue, but we’re hoping all the work will be completed in the summer.”

The minimal cost of the projects recommended by staff is $3.3 million but Oakes said they are asking for $4 million to be set aside for a worst case scenario.

 

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