Arena repair work continues for Town of Vauxhall

By Nikki Jamieson
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Repairs continue for the arena project, but the curling side fix could be lower than the rink repairs.

During CAO Cris Burns’ verbal report to council at the Town of Vauxhall July 21 meeting, he gave an update on the ongoing work and repairs at the town’s ice arena.

Work has started on the curling rink side of the building. Burns noted that “you can’t see the pipe that’s going in the arena and curling rink”, and the site is full of piping.

Due to a frost and mud issue underneath the ice arena, the project saw the added expense of digging up the mud and having to install a pit run base to resolve the issue. Underneath the curling arena, Burns said instead of digging the sand up to install the pipe, they can “slide it into the sand” to resolve the issue, which may help the town save a bit on repairs, as they won’t have to dig.

“Where the old drain is, similar to the piping that made the slab coat, is one that kept the sand warm,” said Burns. “So sliding it into the sand, and they’ll pour the concrete on top of that, and the freezing slab on the other side of that.”

Coun. Kimberly Dorin asked if there was a possibility of a pipe leaking underground that had caused the damage, noting it was a concern brought up to her. Burns said that because the ground water is so high in the area, “it just froze that area.”

“The engineers have solved this (issue) in the past. That’s why in Vauxhall, all our roads will have three-feet of pit run laid before gravel,” said Burns. “It’s the only way the roads will hold up.” 

“We had to use the road principle to deal with this in the ice rink.”

Coun. Marilyn Forchuk noted that it was a continual problem in town, with Dorin adding that the ball diamonds have a similar issue with the high water table in the area.