City staff are waiting for inspectors from Technical Safety BC to sign off on repairs to the Multiplex ice-chiller before starting to restore the ice-skating surfaces.
City CAO Tim Pley said there were two small cracks and 9 fissures in a long weld, which has been ground-out and rewelded, and the manufacturer of the machine is coming from Texas to find out what happened.
“The installer has been here since the first issue and has been working around the clock, working nights and days,” he said. “The leader of the manufacturer will be here later this week as he has not seen this issue before and wants to come here to interact with us.”
Pley said the state-of-the-art ice-chiller has not experienced similar problems anywhere else in the world, and the manufacturer is covering the cost of repairs to the machine, which was installed just 6 months ago.
Pley said the city and user groups like the Bulldogs have been asked to keep tabs on losses and expenses caused by the 2-week shut down, which could eventually be covered through insurance.
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs play their first game in 12 days tonight when they travel to Nanaimo to take on the Clippers. Their scheduled home game Friday against Merrit has been postponed, but their Sunday afternoon game against Trail has been moved to Campbell River.
