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Commission awards $2.75 million winter-tourism project; selects Chill Entertainment for ice-rink services
Summary
The commission voted to award the Department of Commerce-funded winter tourism project, including a refrigerated rink at Kennedy Commons, to Chill Entertainment. The $2.75 million grant covers installation; commissioners and residents debated power, water and vandalism risks.
The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Commission voted to award the winter tourism steering-committee contract for refrigerated-ice-rink services to Chill Entertainment, advancing a Department of Commerce-funded project aimed at boosting off-season tourism.
Joe Underretti, presenting the steering-committee recommendation, said the Department of Commerce awarded a $2,750,000 grant to install and deliver equipment for an initial phase at Kennedy Commons. "The grant is, what's 2,750,000.00," Underretti said, adding the award requires no local match and covers installation and delivery costs.
Underretti and Chill Entertainment representatives described technical choices: a chiller placed on an existing 25-by-15-foot cement pad, buried piping and glycol headers accessed through sprinkler-type boxes, and perimeter retention using treated 2x6 lumber rather than dasher boards to reduce cost. Bids included options for 2,500–3,100 square-foot rink footprints; the selected plan covers roughly 3,100 square feet.
Commissioners pressed staff on recurring costs, three-phase power and transformer placement; Underretti said estimates for transformer work were pending Northwestern Energy pricing and that operational decisions would limit use in warm weather to control costs. Commissioner concerns included potential vandalism and whether refrigeration would damage turf during installation and removal.
Local business owners and residents voiced broad support at the hearing. Rose Diamond said the rink would bring multi-generational visitors and benefit small businesses and the theater. Pete Turks and other residents also endorsed the project while raising practical maintenance and equipment-protection questions.
A motion to award the bid to Chill Entertainment carried by voice vote. Project implementation will be coordinated by county staff, with trenching and equipment staging planned to minimize impacts on other commons uses.
