From the moment it arrived in Jasper the municipality鈥檚 new Zamboni has caused one problem after another and those problems continue to persist nearly a year after it was first put into operation.
Purchased in 2015 to replace its 20-year-old inferior, which was damaged in a fire a year earlier, the new Zamboni has been leaving a ridge of ice in the corners of the hockey rink every time it floods the ice posing a safety risk.
For months the municipality has been working with Zamboni to try and resolve the issue, however the solution proposed by the company may only cause further problems.
鈥淶amboni has come back to Peter (Bridge) with a possible solution for the ice issues. The only problem at this particular point is that it doesn鈥檛 look like it will easily fit into our Zamboni room,鈥� said Yvonne McNabb, director of culture and recreation.
鈥淚t only leaves about four inches on each side so you鈥檙e driving has to be exact and if you miss you鈥檙e going to actually take off the conditioner so he鈥檚 trying to see if there鈥檚 any other solutions.鈥�
For the uninitiated, the conditioner is the piece of equipment on the back of the Zamboni that shaves off the top layer of ice and helps with flooding.
According to McNabb, the problem is the cloth that hangs off the back of the conditioner isn鈥檛 wide enough so it leaves a little ridge of ice in the corners of the rink that needs to be shaved down.
鈥淲hen we first got the machine it was putting trails of slush throughout the whole corner and some of it was an eighth to a quarter inch high and then there were some big chunks that were up to maybe a half inch high,鈥� said Peter Bridge, the manager of the arena.
To resolve the problem Zamboni has proposed putting a larger conditioner on the back of the machine, however Bridge said he isn鈥檛 convinced it will work.
鈥淭he one we have now is 86 inches wide and the one they want to give us is 93 inches wide so it should catch it, but it鈥檚 going to be really tight coming in and out of the room. We have 101 inches total width so at 93 that only gives you four inches on either side,鈥� said Bridge.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this is going to be the solution.鈥�
If a new conditioner is installed he said it would also cost $10,000 to replace all the blades on the machine.
鈥淚 have an idea of maybe how to fix it, but I鈥檓 not sure. I鈥檓 going to play with it for a little bit or we may go back to them and say 鈥榯his machine is not going to work for us.鈥欌��
Concerns about the current status of the Zamboni were first made public during a council meeting in October about five months after the Zamboni went into operation.
At the time McNabb said employees from Zamboni had visited Jasper twice to try and resolve the problem, but weren鈥檛 able to fix it. The municipality has also been in contact with the National Hockey League, which has been having similar issues with some of its machines.
Paula Coony, brand manager for Zamboni, said her company, as well as an authorized distributor in Edmonton, have been working closely with the arena operations team in Jasper to resolve the problem.
鈥淲e have provided feedback as well as a proposed solution to the operational challenges they鈥檝e encountered. As such, we鈥檙e confident that the resolution is near,鈥� wrote Coony.
51暗网 that the proposed solution might make it difficult to get the Zamboni into its room had several councillors holding their heads during a meeting on June 13.
In 2016 the municipality spent $135,000 to renovate and expand the Zamboni room so the new machine could properly fit. The project included approximately $100,000 to install a water treatment system and a new natural gas line for the Zamboni.
鈥淭he reason we bought the bigger machine is because it鈥檚 gotten so busy here,鈥� Bridge said, adding the old machine ran on gasoline producing a lot of emissions.
鈥淭imes have changed so we wanted to get a natural gas machine.鈥�
Less than a year after renovating the room, which was originally built in 1965, a private assessment of the Jasper Activity Centre suggested the municipality should consider relocating the Zamboni room altogether.
The report estimated relocating the Zamboni room and adding four new change rooms would cost more than $2 million. The report was provided to council as information only and will be included in the municipality鈥檚 overall asset management plan. No decisions have been made.
鈥淚f we do move it we鈥檙e still going to use the natural gas and we鈥檙e still going to use the water treatment system,鈥� Bridge said, explaining the water treatment system was temporarily installed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not wasting all that money. The equipment is going to be used whether we move the Zamboni or not.鈥�
Besides the Zamboni, one of his other major concerns is the need for a dedicated change room for girls.
鈥淚 take flak every weekend from teams because there is no where for the girls to dress and I鈥檝e been telling them that for years. I think we鈥檝e been sticking our heads in the sand long enough,鈥� said Bridge. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been getting away with it but in Vancouver minor hockey actually took the city to court and sued them because they didn鈥檛 have proper girls dressing room.鈥�
The municipality purchased the Zamboni in 2015 for $138,000 and all of the repairs and upgrades are still under warranty, according to McNabb.
Paul Clarke
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