Project Manager Kris Brunette, left, and Senior Project Manager Paul Lamoy, both of Schoolhouse Construction update the Tupper Lake Central School District at its December Board of Education meeting held at the Middle-High School Library on Tuesday. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

TUPPER LAKE — On the heels of Thanksgiving, Tupper Lake Central School District Board of Education members and administrators have three more reasons to be thankful.

On Tuesday, the board unanimously voted to formally approve three donations — totaling $200,000 — to repair and ultimately replace the chilling vessel at the Tupper Lake Memorial Civic Center, which is owned and operated by the school district. Board member Josh Tremblay was the only one absent for the evening.

“We could not be doing what we’re doing at the civic center right now without these donations,” TLCSD Superintendent Jaycee Welsh said. Other members of the board echoed the same sentiment.

The board also received an update on the ongoing repairs made possible by the donations — learning that the chilling vessel may be ready for ice production as soon as next week, with the caveat that this was tentative and not a guarantee.

The three donations that comprised the total included a $50,000 donation from KOA Tupper Lake, a $100,000 donation from Adirondack for Kids and a $50,000 donation from the Franklin County Office of Economic Development and Tourism.

Welsh said the district was looking at ways to recognize the three groups once there is ice.

“Whether it’s the first puck drop, whether it’s the first skate, making sure that those donors get recognized very early on,” she said. “(We want) to make sure we’re supporting these organizations who made these very generous donations.”

Welsh said that even though the chilling unit undergoing repairs will be replaced after the season, the district has been careful to try to ensure that as much money being spent on the repairs as possible will be able to

be integrated into the new chilling vessel, and last for many seasons to come.

“With the repairs, we’re getting a few upgrades that we’ll be able to roll over with the new chilling vessel,” she said. “We’re trying to be very strategic about that and make sure that every penny of these generous donations are put to not only their intended use, but to the use of being able to have ice for a long time. We’re very grateful.”

Welsh added that the district had originally considered switching to a glycol chilling system — which is more common among ice rinks today — but decided that with the temporary repairs expected to last this season, they had an added time cushion. The district used it to seek out a brine chilling system — what they currently use. While harder to find, Welsh said this would make for an easier installation down the road.

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Murphy’s Law in effect

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The board also received an update on the repair process from Schoolhouse Construction, one of the firms the district contracts with for facility maintenance.

Senior Project Manager Paul Lamoy was on-site to observe Mollenberg-Betz — a Buffalo-based company that specializes in refrigeration work — employees begin the repair process.

“I will say, the contractor there that’s working on the chiller and replacing the tubes is doing monumental work,” Lamoy said. “(I) was watching him remove some of the tubes. Hard work, it wasn’t going easy, it was going much more difficult than normal chillers that they’ve taken apart.”

Lamoy said the Mollenberg-Betz employee felt that an additional piece of specialized equipment would be necessary to facilitate the repairs. He said getting it to Tupper Lake was a journey in it of itself.

“We figured out it was in Dayton, Ohio,” he said. “(The district’s) facilities director arranged to get it to Buffalo where these workers are from. They got it on their truck so they when they came up here Monday morning, they had that piece of equipment.”

The saga did not end there, as a piece of equipment had a broken switch when it arrived.

“I can’t even make this stuff up,” Lamoy said. “I couldn’t even write a story about it.”

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Ice soon?

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There are 338 tubes with the chilling vessel in total, according to Welsh. With all of the tubes out, 152 new ones have been installed as of Monday, she added.

“We’re optimistic that the tubes are going to be installed and that all of that stuff is going to be put back together by Wednesday,” Lamoy said. “We’re hoping to be able to start connecting all of the piping back and introduce the brine back into the system … by the end of the week.”

Lamoy emphasized that this timeline was not — by any means — a guarantee.

“Fingers crossed (but) I’m not going to sit here and promise anything based on the (project’s) track record,” he said. “But we are hoping that by the end of the week, we’ve got the piece of equipment back together and that next week, we’re able to turn it on, make it function and start making ice.”

Lamoy said that even if additional delays manifest — and ice production is not able to begin next week — getting to this point represents progress that did not seem possible when the problem was first identified.

“I want to say probably 60 days ago, I think everybody that was involved in the communication would have said there’s no way possible that we even make ice this year,” he said. “I coached and refereed for about 30 years up in Plattsburgh, so I get what closing the ice area would do. We’ve tipped over every box we can to try to get things as quickly as possible.”

He credited the Mollenberg-Betz crew for coming up from Buffalo and working three days during the week of Thanksgiving.

“They worked through it, they’ve done really really good work and fingers crossed,” he said. “We’re hoping that we’re going to be able to tell you that you can make ice next week.”