Of the five Austin City Council members home Saturday afternoon, Gloria Nordin (Third Ward) was the only one who has gotten any recent calls concerning the proposed multipurpose arena.

Saturday, April 15, 2000

Of the five Austin City Council members home Saturday afternoon, Gloria Nordin (Third Ward) was the only one who has gotten any recent calls concerning the proposed multipurpose arena.

The lack of communication comes in spite of a request – in Thursday’s Austin Daily Herald – from council members for input from their constituents before they vote on an increased contribution to the county project at their 5:30 p.m. meeting on Monday.

Nordin attributed the feedback to her position on the proposed multipurpose arena. Nordin was the only council member to vote "no" when the rest of the council voted to promise up to $650,000 more for the project on top of the contributions the city had already promised. The Third Ward council member would rather see a second, smaller, sheet of ice put in east of Riverside Arena.

"I had one call last night, but I’ve been hearing from people everywhere I go," Nordin said. "I go out for lunch and people say, ‘You’re right on’. They are showing a lot of support for a second sheet at Riverside and letting the county put up just what it needs at the fairgrounds."

As it stands, the multipurpose arena – which was proposed by the Mower County Board of Commissioners for the Mower County Fairgrounds – will contain two sheets of ice in winter, host community events such as the National Barrow Show the rest of the year, and comes with a price tag of roughly $5.5 million. In addition to the city and the county, other funding sources include the Austin Youth Hockey organization, the Hormel Foods Company and the Hormel Foundation.

Council members Jeanne Poppe said she was a little surprised that she hadn’t heard anything, because she has been very vocal in her support of the project.

Most recently, the council offered to make up exactly half the difference between the original estimate and the revised estimate that came back earlier this year.

There was a cap of $650,000 on that offer, however, and last week the county board asked if the council would go $125,000 beyond if the Mighty Ducks grant from the state doesn’t come through.

The council members will answer that question Monday night, when they vote on item 19 on the council agenda. The county board is supposed to vote on the project at its April 25 meeting.

Other items on Monday’s agenda include public hearings on this summer’s proposed street, sewer and other public works projects, which include the following: 12th Street NE/SE from Fourth Avenue SE to Oakland Place to 8th Avenue NE, South Main Street from Oakland Avenue to Ninth Place SW, also First Street SW by Community Park, Second and Third Avenues NE and Ninth Street between First and Fourth Avenues, 15th Avenue NE from North Main Street to Fourth Street NE and Second Avenue NW from Main Street to First Street NW.

Council meetings are held at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers on the lower level of the Municipal Building at 500 4th Ave. NE. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and to speak. Immediately after the meeting, council will meet to discuss a personnel issue. That meeting is closed.