Midway council reviews Town Square building plan and ice-rink options; staff to return with hard costs

Midway councilors spent most of their March 18 work meeting weighing whether to move forward now on a proposed Town Square concessions/community building or to prioritize replacing the town ice rink.

Council heard that the FY25 budget includes $325,000 for Town Square improvements and that the ice rink fund contains $55,000 in placeholder funds. Staff said the town has one existing award referenced in the meeting as "600" and has applied for an additional outdoor recreation grant described in the transcript as "$6.50"; the decision on that second application is expected May 1.

The discussion focused on sequencing and risk. Several council members argued the town should build the facility now because the building grant is in hand; others said the rink’s underground tubing is old, may be leaking and could require a full slab replacement, which would be easier to complete before siting or constructing the new building. One member summarized the technical risk: "There's tubing underneath the concrete ... every summer we lose fluid out of the coolant system," and said the only way to be sure is to replace the pipes.

Consultants and staff told the council that moving the rink north by up to about 10–11.5 feet is feasible and would improve circulation but may require some modification to the chiller/header used by the rink. Rob, the consultant identified in the meeting as a project consultant, said the current estimate assumes a new slab and that any significant relocation of the rink would require checking the chiller/header connections.

A contractor letter from Russ Watts recommended the town wait for a completed set of drawings and consultant documents so bids can be produced from finished plans rather than preliminary estimates. Council members said Watts’s point is that completed plans produce the most accurate cost data.

On technical follow-up, council authorized staff to seek an ice-rink engineer for a condition assessment and pressure testing of the tubing, and staff noted the draft budget includes a $90,000 allowance for mechanical engineering as a contingency. Members asked consultants to provide updated drawings and alternates (for example, omitting some planters or seat walls as an alternate bid item) so bids can be priced with and without those features.

Rather than committing to construction now, councilors agreed to finish plans, solicit bids and return with hard numbers at the next meeting (the mayor asked for as much information as possible by an April meeting, April 18 was discussed). No formal motion or vote was recorded on that decision during the work meeting.

Council members emphasized two practical constraints: the May 1 grant decision deadline for the outdoor recreation funding and the risk that committing to both projects now could leave the town unable to complete both this season if the second grant is not awarded. As one member put it, "If we make a commitment before then and we don't get it, then we're in trouble."

The council closed the work session after instructing staff to proceed with completing plans, pursuing a rink engineering assessment and returning with firm cost estimates and alternates for the council's next scheduled meeting.