The infrastructure in Mosaic Place is beginning to show its age.  

City council approved $125,000 from the Mosaic Place and Yara Centre Reserve fund to replace the boilers at the arena.

Back in early November/late December, staff members noticed that the glycol levels were low with the refrigeration and heating systems. A leak was identified that was traced back to the heat exchanger failing in one of the two boilers.  

A few weeks later the second boiler stopped working, which was traced back to a cracked heat exchanger. It was also noted that the same boiler had a heat exchanger failure in March, however, it was replaced with only a six-month warranty.  

Insurance claims were filed for both boilers. The claims were approved for the price to replace the heat exchangers.  

Mosaic Place General Manager Ryan McIvor said the city could either purchase new boilers or replace the heat exchangers in the 12-year-old boilers with old components.  

“By going forward with the new boilers, you would end up having brand new boilers, brand new components, and 10 years of warranty with the new boilers,” McIvor said.  

McIvor crunched the numbers and found that new boilers would come with a price tag of $269,350. New heat exchangers would cost $178,226.  

Because the price of the heat exchangers would be covered by insurance, the city would have to pay the difference for the new boilers, $91,124, plus the $20,000 deductible and $13,876 in contingency for a total of $125,000.  

In the end, the city is paying $125,000 for over $269,000 for new boilers because of the insurance claim. 

Coun. Heather Eby said purchasing the new boilers made the most sense.  

“The advantage to the boiler replacement is that the city would get new boilers, all new components, as well as a 10-year warranty and I think that's key,” Eby said.  

It's expected that it’ll take over three months for the new boilers to be delivered. Included in the prices are temporary heaters for the arena until the new boilers can be installed.