St. Catharines will be down an ice pad for the foreseeable future as it figures out whether it's possible to fix aging refrigeration equipment at Rex Stimers Arena.

The city is moving user groups from the rink to other facilities for the upcoming 2018/2019 season in case necessarily upgrades can't be done in time.

"We made every effort to get this information out and this decision made as early as possible," said Phil Cristi, director of parks, recreation and culture services.

"We wanted to be able to give our ice user groups ample time to one, learn about the situation and two, give information to their respective participants and their families. It's a significant development."

The refrigeration system at the rink - part of the Garden City Arena Complex on Gale Crescent - is over 50 years old.

St. Catharines manager of facilities and energy Anthony Martuccio said there is a heightened concern about operating older refrigeration systems after fatalities at a rink in British Columbia last fall.

In October, two Fernie B.C. municipal employees and a refrigeration contractor died when there was an ammonia leak at the arena.

"There's concerns with continuing to run (Rex Stimers) with the equipment that's in there," Martuccio said. "All of the refrigeration equipment is supposed to have a life expectancy of 30 years and we're currently in year 53. The plant's old and it's got some challenges we need to tackle."

Martuccio said repairs for the equipment are significant and there's concern from the city's service provider that it might not be able to get replacement parts due to its age.

The city is currently awaiting feedback from the provider about the cost and feasibility of putting the equipment back into operation.

"We're just trying to be proactive because we don't want something to happen where we end up with an ammonia leak and then we're putting the public and our staff at risk," Martuccio said.

The Jack Gatecliff Arena, which is part of the same complex, has more recent refrigeration equipment and isn't a cause for concern for the city.

User groups booked 1,367 hours at Rex Stimers last season.

Mayor Walter Sendzik said finding user groups other ice pads for the upcoming season is a proactive move and precautionary in the event Rex Stimers isn't ready.

"The last thing we want to do as a city is have leagues that are dependent on Rex wake up Sept. 2 and go, 'There's no ice now?'"

Cristi said the city is looking at moving Rex Stimers users to other city-owned arenas as well as other options in the community.

"We're going to do our very best to accommodate what people are asking for, but we recognize that in some cases we may not be able to accommodate all requests or the exact requests," he said, adding the challenge will be finding enough prime time ice between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. for the demand.

Cristi said when a rink in Seymour-Hannah went down unexpectedly in 2015 the hockey community rallied to help accommodate users and the city was able to manage the situation.

"We're hopeful this situation is no different and we can even improve on what we did the last time."

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Karena.Walter@niagaradailies.com

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