Arena two at Strathcona Gardens is expected to be outfitted with a brand-new score clock after the Campbell River Minor Hockey Association made the regional district an offer it couldn’t refuse.
The organization has offered to chip in $5,000 to purchase an upgraded model that is expected to be brighter, larger, and last much longer.
The Strathcona Gardens Commission, which includes directors who sit on the Strathcona Regional District board, last month recommended the regional district spend $5,000 to go in 50/50 with Campbell River Minor Hockey.
The regional district board on Wednesday voted unanimously in favour of spending the money and amending the 2013-2017 financial plan to accommodate the purchase.
Dawn Christenson, financial services manager for the regional district, said that while there is money available, changing the financial plan was still necessary.
“Staff have projected that there is sufficient unallocated capital funding in the 2013 capital plan to fund this purchase, due to other projects being completed under budget,” Christenson wrote in a report to the board. “However, at the time the five-year financial plan was adopted, the replacement of the score clock was not a priority.”
The offer from minor hockey, though, was the perfect opportunity for the regional district to upgrade its hardware.
The existing clock, which is 17-years-old and has lights burnt out, was installed at Strathcona Gardens in 1996 when the smaller of the two rinks was first built.
It was donated to Strathcona Gardens and at the time, was valued at roughly $3,000.
To replace it with a similar model would cost less than the $5,000 the regional district is planning to spend on a clock, but Josie Rohne, Strathcona Gardens manager, said the new clock will be a noticeable improvement.
“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 wrote in a report to the Strathcona Gardens Commission last month.
The old clock, in comparison, is run on incandescent bulbs that resemble old 110 volt Christmas lights. Each individual bulb is screwed into its own socket and several of the bulbs have burnt out in the past.