Town of Hinton Buildings to Reopen

As the province moves toward Step 2 of the Open for Summer Plan, the Community Services Department is excited to announce the reopening of the Dr. Duncan Murray Recreation Centre on June 14th, 2021. For reopening information for all Town buildings, view the CivicSend HERE. Please continue to read below for a more robust Aquatic Centre update regarding reopening.

After the boilers were replaced in 2019, regular and intermittent users of the Aquatic Centre have likely noticed an ongoing deficiency with the Hot Tub and Play Pool boilers. The Aquatics and Building Maintenance Service Areas, supported by Development Services are excited to announce an upcoming solution for the frigid waters in these two pools!

While running a hose of hot water has helped pool operators provide public access to both the Hot Tub and Play Pool as we await parts for boilers, this method has now reached its stress point. The use of the hot water hose to heat pool basins triggers other challenges such as cold showers, and dilution of pool chemicals causing additional basin closures. Due to the lifecycle of the current facility, Building Maintenance staff have advised that continuing to use the hot hose to heat basins as frequently as has been required, will cause strain and potential failure of additional systems that provide hot water to other areas of the recreation centre and library.

To address this concern, the Building Maintenance team undertook an evaluation of the boiler systems in November of 2020. Replacement boilers were sought; however, they have not yielded the desired improved impact on our systems. As COVID-19 restrictions continued to cause facility closures into 2021, the Building Maintenance team and Development Services issued a Request for Quotations (RFQ) and proposals to further update the Hot Tub and Play Pool heating systems. Proposals were received from two companies in December of 2020, however as further mechanical issues presented, the scope of the original proposal request was redefined in March of 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays in the delivery of supplies and materials needed to complete the boiler work. Thus, on June 7th, 2021, a contract was awarded to WSP Canada Inc. (WSP). WSP will assist our Building Maintenance team to explore possible interim heating solutions for the Hot Tub and Play Pool, while we continue to await the arrival of all components required for the replacement and installation of the permanent boilers.

Regardless of the upcoming work and stress on equipment, the Main Pool and Steam Room will open to the public as scheduled on June 14^th. The Play Pool and Hot Tub will remain closed until an interim or permanent heating solution is implemented. If an interim heating solution is deemed viable, work would commence within two weeks. A permanent solution is also being pursued in parallel while the interim solution is being explored. The Town of Hinton expects to receive timeline updates from WSP next week and is committed to providing the community with weekly updates on this project going forward.

Aquatic programs will continue to be offered in the Main Pool as allowable under current public health restrictions. If you have questions regarding pool programming or the status of your pool pass, please contact Alexa McEachern, Aquatic Supervisor, at 780-740-8063 or amceachern@hinton.ca.

If you have building maintenance or boiler-related questions, please contact Ewa Arsenault, Building Maintenance Supervisor, at 780-865-6024 or earsenault@hinton.ca.

For more information on the WSP contract and timeline, as well as engineering and technical inquiries, please contact Diana Daley-Beckford, Capital Planning Project Manager, at 780-865-6086 or ddaley-beckford@hinton.ca.

For more information on fun things to do throughout the community as we move towards being ‘Open for Summer’, please check out the most recent version of the Community Services Status Guide (ComServ) HERE.