City of Powell River officials are dipping into the general reserve fund to pay for replacing equipment in the refrigeration plant at the Powell River Recreation Complex.
In March and April, leaks sprung in the condenser and ammonia levels plummeted. The company that repaired the equipment strongly recommended replacing the condenser and brine chillers this summer. If they had to be replaced during the regular season, there would be no ice for six to eight weeks.
Councillors considered the issue at a recent committee-of-the-whole meeting and forwarded a recommendation to the council meeting later the same day. Council passed a motion to proceed with replacing the equipment at an estimated cost of $339,200, which includes a $30,000 contingency.
According to a staff report, the city has $534,259 in the general reserve fund. It has earmarked $179,000 as matching funds for the city’s portion of funding for an accessibility grant. “Ideally, the repairs would be paid for from current year taxation, however this would be an approximately 3.5 per cent increase,” the report stated. “The general reserve fund is an appropriate funding source, but this will leave only $16,000 in the fund. It will be imperative that in future years the city transfer funding into the general reserve.”
Councillor Debbie Dee pointed out the equipment had started to break down during the Powell River Kings’ playoff games and replacing it was critical to next year’s season. “Although we maybe knew that something needed to be done about this, we had no idea that it was going to be a critical malfunction, right at that point, that is going to require the complete replacement of it all,” she said.
Councillor Dave Formosa pointed out that council had the option of spending $20,000 less, but opted for the more expensive choice because it has an almost indefinite life. The other option has a 10- to 15-year lifespan.
He also said he was comfortable with awarding the contract to Fraser Valley Refrigeration Ltd., even though the city was not going to tender the contract. “Given the fact that this is an emergency and that this thing has broken down, I’m comfortable our pricing is in line.”
Councillor Aaron Pinch agreed that the situation was an emergency and that there was a tight timeline to replace the equipment.
Stan Westby, chief administrative officer, told council that the purchasing policy permitted sole sourcing in an emergency. It’s also allowed in trade agreements, he said.
Councillor Maggie Hathaway suggested that an investigation should be done on why the situation arose at such a late date. “I’m not convinced it was unforeseeable,” she said. “Maybe we need to reprimand ourselves for that, but I think we should take a look at what happened in this instance and why we have to go this route.” She said the fact that a contract for that amount of money was untendered “really bothers me.”
