VANCOUVER -- VANCOUVER - Residents of Port Alberni now have an expected date for the reopening of their city's ice rinks.
The Alberni Valley Multiplex was ordered to shut down on Nov. 5 after the discovery of an ammonia leak caused by a recently installed chiller unit. On Friday, the city announced that Technical Safety BC had lifted its safety order, allowing the ice plant to reopen.
The multiplex has been out of commission for more than two weeks, and as recently as Thursday it was unclear when the rinks would be able to open again.
Now that Technical Safety BC has issued a new Certificate of Inspection authorizing the facility's reactivation, staff can start making ice again, but it will take a while.
“When we install ice each summer, it takes approximately seven days to complete each of the two surfaces, 14 days total,” said Willa Thorpe, the city's director of parks, recreation and heritage, in a news release.
“Based on our unique circumstances and the extended shutdown, we will be installing the ice on a truncated timeline," Thorpe said.
The city is aiming to reopen the Weyerhaeuser rink on Friday, Nov. 29 and the Coulson rink on Monday, Dec. 2.
"This expedited timeline should not affect the quality of the ice for the remainder of the 2019-2020 season," Thorpe said.
Once the rinks reopen, the city will continue its regularly scheduled programs and events, including the annual Winter Wonderland celebration, which will begin on Dec. 3.
