Moncton City Council approved $239,541 for upgrades to the Coliseum ice plant room to bring it up to code.
Director of Municipal Facilities Sherry Trenholm says the provincial government passed a law increasing the code requirements after three people died after an ammonia leak in Fernie, BC in 2017.
“It’ll take two weeks to get the contractor, all the paperwork and everything awarded, and it’s 60 days to complete this contract, so by the end of December we should have all the deficiencies completed,” says Trenholm.
She continues, adding “our ice plant at the Coliseum does not have vestibules, and it does not have a full alarm system in it, we do have an exterior door which swings outward which is code compliant.”
“Also, we’re going to add signage so no one parks in front of the door,” stressing the importance of a quick exit if there is an emergency situation.
Trenholm adds the provincial boiler inspector permitted them to open as of September 27th, as long as they followed some guidelines, including marking off access to the room so only qualified employees could go in.
She says with the Moncton Wildcats playing at the Avenir Centre, many people might question the need for an ice plant, when the province made it clear the plant would be shut down effective immediately if these upgrades were not made.
“There is a shortage of recreational ice in the Moncton area, and there’s a number of teams that go outside of the area,” explains Trenholm. “So it’s actually going to help the area, with people staying in Moncton to use the ice, so it’ll be used more for that than what it has in the past.”
Trenholm says the Crossman Kay Arena, and Superior Propane Centre needed upgrades as well, but those were less extensive and costly because they are newer buildings.
