Vernon approves $1.5M for Priest Valley Arena condenser replacement
$425,911 will come from a recreation maintenance reserve and about $1.07 million from Vernon’s 2027 infrastructure reserve funding envelope.
Priest Valley Arena in Vernon.
Photo credit: City of Vernon
VERNON — Vernon council has approved $1.5 million to replace the condenser at Priest Valley Arena, drawing on a recreation-facility maintenance reserve and funding allocated from the city’s 2027 infrastructure reserve envelope.
Council approved $425,911 from the Recreation Facility Major Maintenance Reserve and approximately $1.07 million from the 2027 Infrastructure Reserve funding envelope at its Sept. 28 meeting.
The city’s public summary describes the 2027 money as coming from that funding envelope. It does not characterize the amount as an advance, transfer or reallocation, and the public summary does not provide a construction schedule or say whether the work will affect arena ice or programming.
Earlier city budget records provide some context for the maintenance funding. A reserve continuity projection presented in March put the Recreation Facility Major Maintenance Reserve at $425,911 after planned 2026 transfers. That is the same amount council has now approved for the condenser project. The March projection predates the Sept. 28 decision and does not establish what will remain in the reserve once the project is funded.
The new condenser project is separate from refrigeration work carried out at Priest Valley Arena in 2021, when council authorized up to $300,000 from the same major-maintenance reserve for replacement of the arena’s chiller.
Recreation services involving Vernon, Coldstream and Regional District of North Okanagan Electoral Areas B and C will operate under a new fee-for-service agreement beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Under that arrangement, the neighbouring jurisdictions contribute operational funding for Vernon recreation services. The Sept. 28 condenser approval identifies the Recreation Facility Major Maintenance Reserve and Vernon’s 2027 Infrastructure Reserve funding envelope as the sources for the $1.5-million project.
The city’s current published bid-results list does not include a Priest Valley Arena condenser contract. Vernon advises that contract-award postings can take up to three weeks after execution, so the absence of an award from that list does not establish whether procurement has been completed.
The Sept. 28 council summary also does not specify the condenser’s condition, the detailed scope of the replacement work or the timing of construction.
Property owners and their designated representatives can enter specific Bald Range wildfire-affected properties under a Prohibit Entry Order, while general visiting and occupancy remain prohibited as post-fire hazards and recovery work continue.