Skaters at the Chestermere Regional Recreation Centre (CRRC) might have noticed a change in the ice in 2017.
The CRRC, which is run by the Chestermere Regional Community Association (CRCA), took delivery of their brand new 2016 Olympia Icebear Electric ice resurfacer Jan. 12.
“It’s really important to the CRCA to provide the best facility that we can,” said CRCA General Manager Jody Nouwen.
Having a new dependable machine allows the CRCA to do just that.
“We know we can get out there for every flood,” she said.
“We have a reliable machine now that will hopefully serve the community for the next five to 10 years,” said Operations Manager Mike Moore.
With over 9000 service hours on the old machine, the CRCA has needed a new machine for a while.
“This has been on my project list since I took over as GM in May,” said Nouwen.
She is proud to see the new machine at work at the recreation centre after shepherding the process through a presentation to and approval by city council.
“We’re very thankful that council has supported us on this,” said Nouwen.
She also appreciated working with city staff to purchase the new machine.
“To see it come to fruition…it’s a sense of pride and a sense of accomplishment.
“We’re really happy to have the best machinery that we can to provide the best ice surface for the community and our users,” said Nouwen.
Staff at the CRCA have been getting comments both on how quite the new machine is and on the quality of the ice surface.
One response that stands out to Nouwen came from one of the hockey coaches who used to play in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
“He was here during the first flood,” said Nouwen.
“His group was up next, and he came off the ice and said ‘Jody I can’t even tell you the difference that ice makes.’
“He said that it was just excellent,” she said.
With the new resurfacer skaters may notice an improvement in how their skate’s edge cuts the ice.
People will also notice how much quieter the electric motor is.
“I have had [people] come up to me and say it’s so quiet,” said Nouwen.
“You can barely notice that it’s out there,” she said.
Operations staff have been enjoying working with a reliable machine since it arrived.
“Being new, everything works accordingly,” said Moore.
He described its handling like that of a German car.
“Everything is nice and smooth, it’s quiet…turns better, its more nimble,” he said.
There is also less work to maintain the resurfacer.
“As far as the regular maintenance goes, there’s a lot less,” he said, “it’s basically once a week, 20 minutes of maintenance.”
By being an electric ice resurfacer, the new machine is also saving the CRCA money and moving it towards its green goals.
“It’s cheaper to operate,” said Moore.
The cost per flood is significantly less with the electric than the old propane resurfacer.
“We don’t have to pay for propane anymore,” said Nouwen.
The battery last for about 30 floods of the ice surface before needing to be recharged.
“We can run up to two days on one battery charge,” she said.
Moore said that they tend to plug it in overnight every two days during the week and each night on the weekend.
“We never charge it during the day,” he said.
Nouwen said that the new ice resurfacer can be considered the first going green project.
“We’re also doing an LED light replacement in the very near future,” she said.
The new ice resurfacer was purchased by the city and is being leased to the CRCA on a five-year term.
Chestermere City Council made the decision at the Oct. 17 meeting to use using funds from the Recreation Restricted Surplus Fund for the purchase.
