Mallaig and County enter agreement to get zamboni

Communities coming together to keep a clean sheet of ice.

The Mallaig & District Ag & Recreation Society has entered into a loan agreement with the County of St. Paul to purchase a zamboni for the hamlet’s hockey arena.

The County entered the agreement through its loan bylaw, and will provide the Ag Society with $50,000 needed to afford the used zamboni, which the Ag Society will have ten years to repay.

It’s all part of an effort to pump some vitalization into Mallaig’s hockey scene.

“They’ve been doing a lot of work there, and it’s a pretty busy little arena they’ve got,” said County CAO Sheila Kitz. “They’ve gotten some grant funding from the province and the county to do some upgrades to their arena.”

One such provincial grant was for $328,415.

It’s not the first time the County’s lent money out for recreational programs — a few years ago they entered into a similar loan agreement with the St. Paul Football Club to help make improvements to their home arena’s lighting.

In addition to purchasing the zamboni, the Ag Society has looked into replacing the arena’s ice-making plant, built three repair and dressing rooms, redone the bathrooms and showers, built a new girls dressing room, extended the lobby area, purchased upgraded kitchen equipment, and modernized the facade light fixtures.