Council moves to cover Big Mine Rink

East River Skating Association not pleased with direction

A roof, new boards and protective glass could be installed at Big Mine Ice Rink by the 2010/11 winter season. The Crested Butte Town Council gave the go-ahead to the Parks and Recreation Department to investigate and pursue the major upgrades for a covered rink on the existing site.

 
At the April 20 council meeting, town parks and recreation director Jake Jones outlined the pros and cons of pursuing a new rink near the Crested Butte Community School campus or improving the current rink.
“The rink is a big deal,” said Jones. “I really want to seek direction from the council before spending more time on this project. We really do need to find a solution and ultimately I want to find a solution that fits the scale of our community.”
Jones, who said the hockey program was huge in Crested Butte, outlined the pros and cons of the two sites to the council in a memo. While the school campus site would provide more room for future expansion, it would cost a lot more to even get started, according to the memo. The memo points out that the current site has poor soils to support a roof and can come into conflict with the Nordic ski program. But the basics are already in place and the parking and warming house could be expanded.
While Jones had an estimate of about $1.5 million to cover the rink and make other improvements, he said starting from scratch with a new indoor facility would cost a lot more.
“Gunnison hit a home run with their new rink,” he explained. “That said, I don’t think we can multiply that by two. We don’t have the numbers in the valley to support two indoor refrigerated facilities. We need all these rinks to succeed, Crested Butte South included.”
Based on the actual cost of the Gunnison facility, Jones said a similar facility at the school campus would cost about $3.6 million to $3.8 million. That includes the additional money for wetlands mitigation, utility extension and a design that would fit Crested Butte.
Jones recommended that the current rink be covered. He said it would cut down on annual maintenance costs, which range from $15,000 to $60,000 a year depending on weather conditions.
“I’ve been dealing with this for the ten years I’ve been on the council and we’ve gone nowhere,” said Mayor Alan Bernholtz. “I don’t play hockey and I can’t skate to save my life, but I know that if we go in the direction of covering the existing rink, then we will have an enclosed rink. I support Jake’s recommendation.
“I hope the hockey players and the hockey association can at least get on board,” Bernholtz continued. “It’s good for the community, good for the country and good for prosperity. We can do this and then people can start complaining about the next thing on the list.”
It turns out the East River Skating Association isn’t on board with the idea. In a letter to the town, the association states that its members do not “feel this proposed project is following the best path to our ultimate goal of a covered and eventually indoor ice” in Crested Butte.
The letter continues to outline concerns over scale, parking, location and limited future expansion potential. The association also felt a covered rink at the school campus could initially be built for about $2.1 million. Jones told the council he had asked the association what would be included in that price and had not yet received a response.
The association letter takes a position against covering Big Mine Ice Rink and suggests to instead save the money for a future rink that could be built in phases at the school campus location.
But the council generally felt it was time to move ahead. The Nordic Council was comfortable with roofing the current rink and so at the moment, the town Parks and Rec Department will focus on upgrading Big Mine Ice Rink.