Covered ice rink proponents switch focus to school location

More concrete direction to be determined by November

Shift change. It’s the third period of the great covered ice rink debate and the focus is shifting to the school site. But as always, it comes down to money.

A meeting of the ice minds was held Monday, August 24 and the general consensus was to try and find a way to get a covered rink built south of the Crested Butte Community School location instead of covering the Big Mine ice sheet. Everyone agreed that site fits best into future recreation needs for the town.
“I don’t care where we build it, I care when we build it,” said Crested Butte mayor Alan Bernholtz. “I don’t want to have to wait another eight years to perhaps get something done by the school. No one wants to wait any longer for a covered rink.”
Bernholtz made it clear that the private sector would have to bring some money to the table and do it by November 1. If private money cannot be raised by then, the focus would shift back to Big Mine Ice Arena and the town would pursue public grants to pay for a roof over the current rink.
Bernholtz would like to see a covered rink somewhere in town by the winter of 2011-12. So the East River Skating Association will see if they can round up contributions to make the school site a reality.
Parks and recreation director Jake Jones and Crested Butte building and zoning director Bob Gillie analyzed the cost of starting fresh at the school site with a minimal covered facility compared to roofing Big Mine, which already has a concrete slab that is used for ice. The difference amounts to approximately $800,000. That would contrast a covered but not enclosed rink by the school with four locker rooms, two bathrooms, a Zamboni shelter and small office with the current facility, with a roof located next to the Nordic center. A roof could be installed over the Big Mine sheet of ice for approximately $1.3 million, while the barebones facility by the school would come in at about $2.2 million.
“We are in a tough position right now,” said longtime hockey supporter Bill Frame. “Our hockey program is moving down to Gunnison and their indoor rink. Can a community of 20,000 people support two indoor rinks? I doubt it. I feel like we missed the boat and I’ve lost some enthusiasm for the project. Having said that, if the town is going to spend $1.5 million to put a roof over Big Mine, I think it is better spent to do something at the school site that allows for growth and better parking. I don’t want to see the town spend that money on a sub-par deal.”
Jones admitted that having two rinks in the valley like the indoor Gunnison facility would shoot both programs in the foot.
“So the argument comes around to getting some covered ice up at this end of the valley and it probably makes sense to go with the cheaper option at Big Mine,” surmised hockey parent Chris Hensley.
“We are basically discussing the future of hockey in Crested Butte right now,” said Gillie. “Do we cede it to Gunnison? It’s all about money at this point.”
No one wanted to throw in the towel and send all the hockey programs to Gunnison.
“As a hockey parent, I’m concerned with the cost to pay for four hockey players, so operational costs need to be considered,” said local parent David Bright.
“There is no way we can charge the user enough to pay for operations so the town would probably have to help subsidize operational costs,” said Jones.
Bernholtz agreed. “The town will subsidize operating costs no matter what we do,” he said. “But we understand it’s good for the community and it can help bring in some revenue when people come to town to play. But I would expect that people will be charged more than they are now.”
East River Skating Association representative Bill Coburn said that if Telluride, a resort town similar in size to Crested Butte, could support an indoor rink, Crested Butte should be able to do the same.
Gillie reminded him that Telluride’s town budget was three or four times Crested Butte’s budget.
“Telluride has much more money and access to much more money than us,” said Bernholtz.
“But to start the rink by the school site means you can add a recreation center and other facilities in the future, if and when our economy turns around,” said Coburn.
“I’m not a proponent of going down a road that’s a dead-end,” said Hensley. “How much longer will it take to get a facility over by the school? If it’s five or eight more years, we should do what we can. If it can happen over there quickly, then it would make sense.”
Bernholtz said he was willing to talk to the rest of the council and give East River Skating Association an opportunity to raise the funds that would make a rink by the school feasible.
“We can say you can have the site by the school but you have to raise six or seven hundred thousand dollars to make it work,” he said. “I like the idea of it being over there and being able to expand it in the future. You should try to raise the money but I don’t want to miss another grant cycle and lose out on another year.”
“That’s a good idea,” responded Coburn. “We need to test the donor waters again since it is a different economy.”
“Let’s go with the full push and try to do it over there,” said Bernholtz. “If it works, great. If not, we have a fall-back position at Big Mine.”
The meeting participants seemed on board with that idea. “The dead-end is not covering anything,” said Bright.
The East River Skating Association will begin making calls to potential donors. The ice group will reconvene by November 1 with a clear answer.