Geo-Domes for Rinks - A very interesting idea!

At the October EFCL Board meeting a consortium of organizations presented a concept for a Geo-Dome cover for skating rinks.

Global Resource Efficiency Services (GRES) brought James Wall affiliated with GRES and representing Sprung structures, and Leigh Bond representing Threshold Energies Corporation and together they presented five options that ranged from a simple cover for a rink to a full blown covered rink, with geothermal ice plant. 

GRES Geo-Dome Brochure,
 click here to download the PDF.

A cover for a community rink presents a number of benefits: There is never any snow on the ice, the wind never blows and the sun never shines on the ice. As most rink folks know, snow can be a pain for outdoor rinks such as it was last year. And sun is the enemy of outdoor rinks because it can prematurely wreck the ice cutting the season short.

The entry level covered rink with no add-ons such as an ice plant or geothermal cooling system would cost from $300-$400K. 

A cover mean a rink is not only better for the skating season, but it would also be available for summer sports, farmer's markets, soccer parties and all sorts of other events.

Adding turf the covered rink further extends its potential use. Depending on the configuration it is possible to get as much as five months of ice.

They also presented a high end version of the rink that features an ice plant and a geothermal cooling system that can be used to keep the ice frozen and heat surrounding buildings at the same time. The deluxe version can cost 1 - 1.6 million dollars. However, if Edmonton were considering a civic policy designed to increase regional ice facilities, the geothermal system is 55% cheaper to operate than a conventional system with an ice plant. This could help bring new life to inefficient complexes and make the addition of more covered rinks a possibility.

The other thing these folks suggested was that projects can be staged in phases. A rink could be covered in phase one and later on a geothermal ice plant system could be added. In the geothermal version of the rink the heat harvested from beneath the ice is used to heat the stands, benches and nearby buildings such as halls or even a swimming pool. The presenters also talked about financing that may be available if it could be backed by hard assets. 

A very interesting proposal. For more information check out www.gresworld.com

October EFCL Board Package

Hi everyone,


Well, it's been a busy month with the EFCL Regular General Meeting, the launch of new programs and with the increased operating grants coming out.


Download the Oct. 13 EFCL Board Package


Here are some quick highlights from the October 2011 EFCL board meeting package.


5.1 pg. 5 – Community League Showcase – Nominate a project - please forward your suggestions of community projects that deserve to be highlighted to me and I would be happy to pass them on. Make sure we recognize those who deserve it!

5.2 pg. 8 – SOCAN – Did you hear from SOCAN recently? The EFCL hopes to set up a meeting with Edmonton area MPs to talk about SOCAN. The EFCL did fire a letter off to SOCAN clarifying our position and suggesting that leagues be treated better.

7.2 pg. 14 – Community League Day report - wow, 101 leagues officially participated. If you register early for next year we will be able to get even more attention for community leagues and league events!
What went well? What should we change? Did you value the event kits? Please take a minute to fill out our brief Community League Day Survey about the event.


7.3  pg. 16 – Living Local Summit – October 28th, 9am - 4pm Woodvale Community Hall 

a one-day gathering brought to you by the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, the office of the Mayor and the City of Edmonton. 

Help your organization, customers and members reduce transportation time, save money, and increase their quality of life. 

Help us develop a strategy to help Edmontonians do more daily activities closer to home and reduce the amount of time driving in our city. Good speakers and a very important topic for community leagues - don't miss the opportunity to attend and participate!

7.4 pg. 22 – Arts $$$$$$  Living Local Arts and Heritage Program up to $20,000 per project. The deadline for applications is Nov. 18, 2011. Examples of projects could be paintings, sculptures, murals, live performances, history books – anything the league believes would be of interest and benefit to its members. Preference will be given projects undertaken by artists in the community

7.6 pg. 25 – Sale of Membership Cards On Line – Though considerable questions arose, there was not a single person opposed to the motion at our RGM to allow EFCL to provide a printable membership card with the online sale of community league memberships. Now that this has been approved, a process will begin to assess the manner in which this can be implemented expect results sometime next year.

7.7 pg. 26 – Renewable Energy/Energy Conservation Initiative - this is in the process of development, but the idea is to support solar energy and energy efficiency projects at Community Leagues to save them money and reduce their emissions. 


7.8.1 – pg. 27 – 40 km/hr Speed Limit Project – The City‘s Transportation and Infrastructure committee has recommended to City Council that three of the six pilot communities keep their 40 km/hr speed limit, while the others see a return to 50 km/ hour and council confirmed that decision today.


7.8.2 – pg. 27 – Cultural Inclusion Project – Duggan hosted a welcome party for Chinese new Immigrants – working with ASSIST (the Chinese immigrant serving agency) we arranged a welcome party for new Canadians from China. Approximately 25 Chinese families attended "Taste of Duggan," a pot luck dinner, arranged by the league. Community members brought a variety of cultural dishes to share, and celebrate with their fellow neighbours. Everyone from the Bhutan community were in attendance (Approximately 40 families)!


Those are the highlights, as always please be sure to email me your thoughts and input on issues affecting community leagues!


Sincerely,
David Dodge
District B Rep. and President, EFCL