District of Clearwater town council approved some major expenditures during it Jan. 10 meeting.
The first was approving $223,000 for the replacement of the refrigeration chiller and computer control system at the North Thompson Sportsplex.
The present refrigeration chiller was installed in 2000 and its life expectancy decreases rapidly after 18 years, council was told.
Chiller failure could result in shortened life for the compressors or total failure. Breakdown during the operating season would cause the Sportsplex to be closed for an entire season.
The contract was awarded to Fraser Valley Refrigeration, which installed the present refrigeration chiller in 2000.
The second major expenditure was $88,500 for the replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system at the Dutch Lake Community Centre.
As reported to council, DLCC is presently heated with hot water which is provided by a bio-mass wood chip system, with propane boilers as backup. The existing hot water boilers were installed in 1994 and need replacing.
Other HVAC concerns and costs include engineering, water treatment, as wells as back-flow prevention sensors and controls.
Also a major item, although without a price tag attached, was a decision to waive the requirements of the District’s purchasing policy to allow the extension of the road maintenance contract for a further five years (past Sept. 22, 2018).
The cap on winter maintenance snow and freezing events was eliminated from the contract at the same time.
The decision on the road maintenance contract was actually made during an in camera council meeting held Oct. 18 and then reported out during the Jan. 10 meeting.
“In camera” means the October meeting was held in private. The rule of thumb for in camera meetings is that they involve “land, law or labour.”