Replacing the ice rink refrigeration at the Robert Hartley Sports Complex in Hawkesbury will cost taxpayers an additional $300,300.
Town council approved the additional costs on June 5. According to a report prepared by Director of Recreation and Installations Geneviève Goulet, $2,500,000.00 was allocated in the 2023 budget for the new refrigeration system. A contract to TST Energy Systems Inc. was signed and accepted on February 7, 2022, in the amount of $47,950.00, and a contract to CIMCO Refrigeration was signed on September 15, 2022, at the amount of $2,434,300.00. However, an additional $144,600.00 will be needed to supply and install temporary equipment to start the compressor in September for the 2023-2024 season due to late equipment arrival. And, an additional $173,450.00 will be needed to replace the exposed winged headers and mains back to the refrigeration room in the complex.
Goulet’s report explains that at the time of tender, the temporary equipment rental was discussed and was included in the tender form. After a visit to the complex, the contractors on the site and TST consultant in charge of the tender said the temporary equipment was not necessary and that all equipment for the refrigeration system would be delivered and installed on time for the 2023-2024 season. When the tender process was completed and the contract was given to CIMCO on September 15, the temporary equipment such has rental chillers was still not necessary. However, when the design was finalized and equipment was finally approved and ordered, the fabricator/supplier returned and said the equipment was on backorder and a serious delay was to be added to the equipment delivery. The delivery was expected to be in June 2023 but is now expected in October 2023. The temporary rental chiller equipment will be needed from mid-August to the end of December 2023.
After a few weeks of work on the refrigeration system, CIMCO was scheduled to flush the brine system out of the pipes to eventually change the brine with the new glycol system. After creating an opening in the header, which is the main pipe, the work crew found a large amount of sediment which was not expected. Discussions occurred to see if there were other options such as manual cleaning or changing just a portion of the piping. But it was discovered those options would end up costing more then the complete change. The header pipe was to be changed with the under piping for the ice rink in a few years, but the Department of Recreation and Installations recommended changing it this year due to the large amount of sediment located at the bottom of the pipe. The warranty would also be cancelled if it was not completely cleaned or changed.
