“So the rink has made it to port,” Dayron Deaton-Owens said in updating the city Tourism and Development Board on the anticipated synthetic ice rink. “I’m just waiting on news for us to be able to pay the second part and, once I get the news on that, we can pay and it should make its way to us. The timeline should still be good.”
The TDB met last Monday, Oct. 24, to take action before the rink arrives. TDB chair Sarah Cantrell said, “We knew when we purchased this that we would cover the expenses of the subfloor materials for the rink.”
TDB member Christy Ross moved to allot $10,000 for subflooring materials, asking, “Do we want to set an ‘up to’ limit to 10?”
Cantrell answered, “I think we can start with up to 10 as like a ballpark. I don’t know if it will go that high, but I think that’s a fair amount to start with.”
The TDB unanimously approved the money to purchase the subflooring. Cantrell added, “The second thing that we will need is a building structure to house the skate rentals and admission. So we’ve been looking at this as well, just a free-standing structure to go next to it. It may be in our best interest to look at something used for the first year to see how well it works before we make a brand new structure.”
Ross asked, “Is there a certain dollar amount that we can spend up to before having to put it out for bid?”
Cantrell answered, “I believe that’s $2,500.”
Ross said, “I don’t know if we can get one for $2,500, so do we make a motion for up to 2,500?”
Cantrell responded, “I think we start the search for a used one first.”
Ross said, “The only issue there is when you find it, you have to be able to pull the trigger on it, or they’re gone if it’s that cheap.”
Cantrell said, “That’s why we need to make a motion up to a certain dollar amount, in case we don’t find one. And you think 2,500?”
Ross answered, “I think so.”
Cantrell said that the building will be stored when not in use because it is portable. Ross asked, “How many skates do we have? Do we have 80 skates?”
Deaton-Owens said, “I think it’s 85, something like that.”
Ross responded, “That won’t take much.”
Deaton-Owens added, “I’ve just been doing some looking; I think we can do it. But it’s going to have to be a thing of, if we see, we’re going to have to pull the trigger.”
The Board unanimously approved the money for the rental and admissions building. Cantrell said that the goal is for the rink to be open for Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26.
