McMinnville On Ice is on the ground!
The long-awaited synthetic ice rink is set to open Dec. 2, a week later than originally proposed. The original goal was to open by Nov. 26, but concerns from McMinnville Parks and Rec director Justin Scott pushed the soft opening back a week.
“I’m not concerned, but I am, when we’ve got a little bit of repairs to the building.” Scott said at the city Tourism and Development Board meeting.
A window is being added to the ticket booth, plus other cosmetic improvements to the building. Scott asked the board to allow for a later opening date to make sure the building is put together correctly and not rushed.
Scott said he wants to be done by Nov. 26, and TDB member Christy Ross asked, “Do you want to push that out a week?”
Scott answered, “I don’t want to, but I also am trying to make sure my guys are not going to kill me, because I’m putting all this work on them.”
The board landed on Friday, Dec. 2 as a soft opening to work out potential kinks and be prepared to open officially on Saturday, Dec. 3, after the Christmas parade. TDB chair Sarah Cantrell said, “I think that Friday is good and then do a delayed opening on Saturday because of the parade.”
The board approved to have the opening rescheduled, and it also approved the waiver and rules that were presented by McMinnville Parks and Rec with some clarifications.
“Every person that comes on to skate will have to fill out a waiver,” said TDB administrator Dayron Deaton-Owens. “Now that waiver does not stay into effect throughout the season, so if they come on Saturday and come back on Sunday, they will have to fill out a new waiver.”
Facility manager Michael Benusches added, “We also had the idea of encouraging the public to print out the waiver beforehand and fill it out.” A QR code with the waiver was discussed to be available on the McMinnville Parks and Rec website and Facebook page.
Scott said, “Especially for kids that come and their parents drop them off. They’re going to have to sign that waiver for the kid, and that kid is going to walk up, hand us five dollars and a waiver.” The five dollars will allow you to skate within a 45-minute block.
The rules presented didn’t include the time limits of the tickets, but the TDB approved the rules with the addition of the time slots. The waiver was approved with the caveat that city attorney Tim Pirtle will look over it first.
