Moosejaw, Sask., city council had to fork out $16,500 in maintenance costs for its Kinsmen Sportsplex after the municipal pool’s water heater broke down recently.
According to a news report from Moosejaw Today, city council approved the allocation of $16,500 from the facilities building reserve account in this year’s parks and recreation capital budget to replace the water heater at the recreation value during their Feb. 28 regular meeting.
Sportsplex director Derek Blais explained the pool has three insulated natural gas commercial water heaters that supply hot water to the change room shows and sinks, lifeguard rooms, washrooms, and the concession.
The units have lifespans of 10 years and come with five-year warranties. The unit that failed—which broke the week of Feb. 14—was installed in May 2014 and is nearly a decade old.
The Sportsplex’s hot water system is similar to residential water heaters where they hold heated liquid to a set temperature, Blais continued. These three commercial units are in a chain, and as one tank empties—all three are used during high-use periods—the system switches to the next one as the empty unit refills with fresh water and the heating process begins again.
Coun. Heather Eby supported the parks department using money from the reserve account to pay for this repair, according to the news report.
“It’s why the reserve is there. If the director feels it’s necessary to increase that amount annually, I have no problem with that, I think it’s great that we have this money set aside,” says Eby.
The next regular council meeting is on March 14.
