People cool to any possible closing of rec center rink
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published March 14, 2007

Many of the people attending a public meeting about preliminary recommendations in the recreation master plan were hot and bothered about an idea that city officials continue to insist is not a done deal.

A large number of the more than 100 people at the meeting objected in various ways to the ice rink in the city recreation center either being closed for good or closed down temporarily as part of the first phase of building a new recreation center.

Many of the people said they were not consulted about possible recommendations for the recreation center as a whole and the ice rink in particular.

One woman with two children in programs at the rink said she was never approached by anybody.

“I’ve been there every night for a year and I’ve never been asked about a survey or seen anybody out there gathering information,” she said.

However, John Dailey, community services director for the city, said before, during and after the meeting, that city officials have no final plan for anything in city recreation facilities in general and the rink in particular.

“There’s no plan to close the rink, there’s no plan to close the rink, there’s no plan to close the rink, there’s no plan to close the rink,” Dailey said. “I don’t know how to say it any other way at this point.”

City Planning Director Kim Wenger said no decisions have been made.

“Everything is preliminary at this point,” she said. “A primary purpose of the meeting was to get more public input. There is no final document at this point.”

Dailey discussed during the meeting how city officials are bringing down the ice in the rink from May 23 through July 31 this year to inspect pipes and other equipment in the facility. However, he also reiterated the city still has scheduled the rink to re-open Aug. 1.

“The city is doing everything it can to keep that rink running as long as possible,” Mayor Thomas O’Grady said later. The chief executive had to leave the meeting with a virus and sore throat shortly after opening it up the public and officials making the presentation.

“We intend to keep the rink open and a part of the city,” O’Grady said. “That being said, if the city decides that it’s the best course of action to not put in a new rink until the second phase or not have one, then that’s what we will do if it’s in the best interest of our citizens using the rink.”

O’Grady said if that course of action is taken, then the city will try and keep the older rink open while a new one is going up.

Some of the attendees were from hockey or ice skating programs which already use the rink. They said many nationally and regionally ranked programs use the facility and would have to go elsewhere if the city no longer has a rink. Several speakers said they moved to North Olmsted so their children and families could use the rink and the recreation center after it was built in the mid-1970s.

O’Grady said city officials are aware of this but also added that the city has gotten feedback from people indicating they want more exercise equipment and facilities like other municipal rec centers built after the North Olmsted’s.

“We want to go with what our residents and users of the facility see as our needs,” O’Grady said.

One woman from Shaker Heights said the rink draws people to North Olmsted from across the region who, in addition to using the facility, also shop and eat in city businesses when they come here.

Other people expressed concern about paying for new facilities or having to pay user fees.

City officials also expressed concern about costs.

“You have to find a way to pay for all these ideas,” said Ron Tallon, chairman of council’s finance committee. “You’re looking at ranges of between $23 to 32 million for the facility depending on if you get a rink or not. Plus, you’re going to have to add in other costs and fees and that pushes the cost up even more.”

Other speakers expressed doubt at the estimated cost of between $7 to $9 million for a new rink, with one woman saying a similar facility in Wooster was cheaper and other people advocating private sector participation to bring costs down.

Paul Barker, chairman of council’s parks, recreation and public facilities committee, said the city needs to make solid plans.

“There is a definite need to upgrade recreational facilities in the city,” Barker said. “But if we don’t find a way to finance new facilities, then we need to have a plan ready for renovating or keeping going the current facility.”

Wenger said city officials are still looking at a combination of possible funding sources, citing government grants, private sector funding, partnering with other governmental bodies or a tax levy.

She also said renovation costs are currently estimated at between $18 to 23 million but noted that the figures are right on the accepted norm of  renovation costs being about 60 percent of a new facility. When they get that close, officials said it’s frequently better to build a new facility with better equipment which will last longer.

City officials said they will continue to seek information on the proposals.