Strathcona Gardens governors want to team up with Campbell River Minor Hockey to purchase a new score clock for Arena 2.
The existing clock is 17 years old and the lights are failing, said Russ Hotsenpiller, the chief administrative officer of the Strathcona Regional District.
“It is an older model that uses incandescent bulbs that resemble the older 110 volt Christmas lights,” said Hotsenpiller in the report to the Strathcona Gardens Commission. “Each of these bulbs screw into a socket base and staff are currently experiencing failures with individual bulbs. The controllers that run the score clock from the timekeepers booth have also required servicing each year at an approximate cost of $400 annually.”
Campbell River Minor Hockey Association is proposing it go in 50/50 with the regional district to purchase a new $10,000 clock.
“A new score clock would benefit not only Campbell River Minor Hockey Association players, but it would also benefit other user groups,” said Alan Barker, president of Campbell River Minor Hockey in a letter to the commission. The offer to split the cost of the clock came across the table at the Strathcona Gardens Commission meeting last month and the commission is recommending the regional district (which it operates under) approve spending $5,000 from unspent 2013 capital project money.
Josie Rohne, Strathcona Gardens manager, said in a report to the commission that to replace the existing clock with the same model would cost less than $5,000 but the offer from Minor Hockey allows the regional district to improve its equipment.
“We have an opportunity to upgrade to a model that will offer improved energy efficient LED lighting, reduced maintenance costs, a life cycle of 20 years and a much larger and clearer clock for the community to view,” Rohne said.
The existing clock was installed at Strathcona Gardens in 1996 when Arena 2 was built. It was donated to Strathcona Gardens and at that time, was valued at roughly $3,000.