Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Vfw Arena Ice topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City staff seeks OK to keep VFW Arena ice in place through summer rentals to save equipment and labor
Summary
Parks staff asked the council to approve two spring rental agreements and allow staff to leave the VFW Arena ice in place through summer camps to reduce startup/shutdown labor and equipment strain; operating costs and committed revenue were discussed.
Jeremy King, Parks and Recreation staff member, asked council approval of the standard spring ice rental agreements with the Blue Line Club and Northern Lights Figure Skating Club and requested permission to leave ice in place between spring and June summer rentals.
King estimated the incremental operating cost to keep the VFW ice in place through the Blue Line Club’s June camp at about $16,000 for utilities, maintenance and part‑time staffing, but said actual net cost could be lower once labor savings from avoiding a full take‑out and reinstall are counted. He told council there are already commitments from two parties that would cover roughly half the operating cost and that the office had fielded additional rental inquiries he expects will make up remaining costs.
King also said keeping the ice in place may be easier on the existing compressor/ice plant because problems often occur during shutdown and startup cycles. He said the Civic Center and the Blue Line Club standard schedule would be unchanged; the ask was only to keep the VFW ice in place.
No formal contract approvals or funding adjustments were made at the work session; King said staff would proceed with the contract process and asked council to approve the approach so staff could avoid the labor spike of taking the ice out and reinstalling it on short notice.
