Tupper Lake’s Karter Kenniston skates past the SLP defense of Carver Bell (16), Andrew Gay (20) and Ryan Bruce (15) during a January game at the Tupper Lake Civic Center. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

TUPPER LAKE — The Tupper Lake Civic Center’s ice rink chilling vessel was discovered to be “significantly malfunctioning” on late Thursday afternoon, preventing the use of the rink for the foreseeable future.

The discovery was made by Tupper Lake Central School District staff as they were preparing to make ice for the upcoming season, according to TLCSD Superintendent Jaycee Welsh. The Tupper Lake Civic Center is owned and operated by the school district.

Welsh said the fluid leak rendered the unit inoperable in part because the fluid’s chemicals would damage the nearby compressors if the system had been turned on.

“Our compressors are very solid right now, and that’s really the last thing (in the ice-making process that) we would want to corrupt,” she said, adding that the leak was found before the system was turned on, preventing any damage from the fluid.

District officials already knew that the rink’s 25-year-old dehumidification system — a separate component from the chiller — was dilapidated and in need of replacement. They put the issue to voters in October 2023, who approved — by a margin of 144 to 99 — the purchase as part of the district’s $20.5 million capital improvement project vote.

Welsh explained that the dehumidifier was a crucial component of any ice rink.

“When the dehumidification system isn’t working in the ice rink, there’s so much moisture in the rink that it can actually rain down on you. The ice can get choppy and its quality (is greatly diminished),” she said.

After voters approved the plan, Welsh said the district had to request an expedited review by the state Education Department to get the dehumidifier installed this past summer after the old unit was assessed to be failing quicker than the district had anticipated before the capital project vote.

Welsh said that even though the project was approved in 2023, the district had originally hoped to make it through this season before replacing the civic center’s dehumidifier.

“We were hoping that the dehumidification system would sneak us out another season,” she said. “Unfortunately, earlier this summer, they learned that it (could not).”

This required seeking emergency approval from the state Education Department, which Welsh said was a process that “moved many people (to act) very quickly.”

“(TLCSD’s engineering and architecture contractors) were able to find a piece of equipment, ship it across the country on a flatbed truck, got it here in record time and they were able to do all of the pre-construction work to get that system up and running,” she said.

Welsh said that it was only after gaining the state’s emergency approval to install the dehumidification system early that the chiller was discovered to be broken. She said going through all of these steps beforehand — only to be stymied at the last minute by something outside of the request to the state — contributed to their frustration and disappointment in the situation, adding that they had been on schedule to have ice by their Nov. 1 goal.

“This is an unfortunate setback, and we do not have an ice-in date at this time,” Welsh said.

–

Next steps

–

Welsh emphasized that solutions remain unknown at this time. She said that while the coolant fluid was leaking, that was about all that was known. District staff met with contractors Monday to chart a path forward.

Welsh said that first, the manufacturer will run a pressure test on the unit’s tube system to see if they can identify the location and nature of the leaks. She did not yet know when the manufacturer would be able to run this test.

She said that once the test is performed, the district will have a better sense of how easily the issue can be fixed. Welsh said the district’s hope — and the quickest solution — was that the leaks in the tubes could be plugged, allowing it to operate this season.

But, she said, while they determined on Monday that it is what they will test for first, it may not be the leak’s cause. Costs of any potential repair were uncertain at the moment, said Welsh, given that they hinge on the cause’s diagnosis.

“We don’t even know if this is what’s going on. This is what we’re kind of hoping is what’s going on, and we can plug them and limp through one more season,” Welsh said.

Whether the current unit can be repaired temporarily, a new one would likely be needed by next season, she said.

It was unclear at press time what the new chilling unit would cost, and whether the purchase would need to go back to district voters for approval.

–

Impact on community

–

The chilling vessel’s failure coincides with the typical start of youth hockey season in Tupper Lake. Briggette Shaheen, who serves as the Tupper Lake Youth Hockey Association’s board of directors vice president, called the setback “incredibly disappointing.”

“Ice time is essential for our young athletes to develop their skills, stay engaged and gain all of the other benefits that hockey brings: teamwork, discipline and healthy lifestyles,” she said. “We’re talking about a lot of young players that are going to have to potentially travel all across the North Country to get ice time and play games.”

In an email sent to its membership, the TLYHA’s board said they did not expect ice-in until after November at the earliest, but were “exploring all possible solutions.”

Shaheen said that they have about 80 players signed up for the season across their five teams and a separate learning program for younger players.

Athletes range from ages 3 to 14 and come from as far away as Blue Mountain Lake and Star Lake. She said her program also has participants from Cranberry Lake, Saranac Lake and Long Lake.

The ice’s use extends beyond TLYHA. Shaheen said other youth hockey associations will often use Tupper Lake as a midway point to play games, given the often-long drives required in such a rural region. High Peaks Skating Academy, a figure skating program run by Amy Payton, of Lake Placid, uses the rink as well.

“She usually registers a good number of skaters,” Shaheen said, adding that the rink was also used by adult leagues most evenings during the season and that the rink hosts a large adult tournament, the Phil Edwards Memorial Hockey Tournament, each January.

Edwards was one of TLYHA’s “founding fathers,” according to Shaheen.

“(Edwards) helped build the Tupper Lake Civic Center prior to the school owning it,” she said. “The tournament provides a scholarship and donations to TLYHA.”

–

Contingency plans

–

With so much still unknown, Shaheen said keeping people updated was a priority.

“We’re just trying to keep our membership up to date as much as we can with what little information we have,” she said.

Coaches can still begin off-ice — or dryland — training, but Shaheen noted that it will become harder as winter sets in.

Saranac Lake is the closest rink, but Shaheen said it is an “extremely busy” rink, with most of their limited openings conflicting with the school day.

She also said they were thinking of reaching out to SUNY Canton, SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University for potential ice slots.

Shaheen said the added financial cost will be difficult for many, compounded by the situation’s sudden occurrence.

“We are fortunate in Tupper Lake that we have very affordable ice, so this all comes at an added cost that we weren’t prepared for,” she said.