A new shiny arena is not much good if you cannot afford to keep it running year after year.

Thursday, May 03, 2001

A new shiny arena is not much good if you cannot afford to keep it running year after year. That issue is the newest dilemma the city faces in its bid to bring a second sheet of ice to Austin.

Now word comes the city may not be able to build a second arena and renovate Riverside Arena for the $3.93 million available to spend. On Tuesday, the Mower County Board of Commissioners voted to contribute $800,000 to the project, but that amount is $355,000 less than what the city expected to receive. That’s one problem, but there are many more.

The difference in funding between what the city expected and what the county offered may dictate the location of the second sheet of ice. Building the structure near Riverland Community College would require additional funds to renovate a nearby parking lot, extend utilities to the site and create a facade in keeping with the buildings already on the Riverland campus, according to City Administrator Pat McGarvey. The city was counting on the extra $355,000 from the county to pay for those additional expenses to bring the building to Riverland.

Since that funding will not be coming the city’s way, on Wednesday, council members and Park, Recreation and Forestry Board members discussed a previously mentioned location: along Seventh Street NE, where Hormel Foods Corp. currently parks trucks.

Bringing sewer and water to a building in town would be cheaper and the parking lot at Riverside could be used for both facilities, according to McGarvey. In addition, the city would not have to contend with exterior appearance stipulations at the in-town location, as they would at Riverland.

Though the site along Seventh Street NE, also known as the Klagge site, is along the Cedar River, it is not in the flood plain and has not flooded in the past.

The cost of operating the second arena is estimated at $30,000 to $50,000 per year. Finding those funds in the yearly budget is the tricky part because additional funds are just not available, according to Finance Director Tom Dankert.

"You’re fooling yourself to think you could run two (sheets of ice) for the same as one," City Finance Director Tom Dankert said. "Unless you are willing to cut another program, you’re going to have to raise taxes."

"As a businessman, we’ve got one deal that’s already losing money, why would we want to invest in something else that’s going to lose money?" Councilman Pete Christopherson said. "Are you as a group willing to raise taxes? If we’re not going to raise taxes, why should we build it if you can’t operate it?"

Three options will need to be considered, according to Councilman-at-Large Dick Chaffee: raise taxes within the city, reduce services the city provides or reduce city personnel.

"Do you want it bad enough to subsidize it?" McGarvey asked Councilwoman Gloria Nordin. Nordin said it was something that would have to be discussed.

A deficit in yearly operational costs is expected even after the revenue received from the Austin Youth Hockey Association and Riverside Figure Skating Club, regular users of Riverside. As it now sits, the Park, Recreation and Forestry Department spends more money on maintaining the arena and the swimming pool than they receive in revenue. The practice arena would produce an additional figure for the deficit side of equation, unless the city takes some action. Yet Denny Maschka, park, recreation and forestry director, said the city does not expect to make a profit off the recreational programs and services it provides.

"(The second sheet of ice is) going to solve hockey’s problem, but I’m not sure that’s going to help us with any long-range planning further down the road," Gary Quednow, a member of the Park and Recreation Board member, said.

"We can’t afford much of an increase," Michelle Arjes, president of the Riverside Figuring Skating Club, said today in response to the possibility of increased rates for use of the new facility to pay for the operational costs. Several skaters, including her own daughter, travel elsewhere for additional ice time. However, Arjes said she was not sure offering more ice time because of the new arena would increase usage by figure skaters in the area, and thereby increase revenue.

Larry Lyons, board member of the Austin Youth Hockey Association believes the real issue is not if more users will be drawn to the second arena, but if those who use Riverside now will finally be able to get enough practice in in town.

"Because the competition for ice time for the emerging girls programs is so much, it makes ice time during reasonable hours just not available for use," Lyons said Thursday. His own son has practiced at 9:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. over the past few years just to be able to practice one night per week. Lyons said he is confident the city will produce a second sheet of ice, like neighboring communities have.

"If anyone can do it, (Mayor) Bonnie Rietz will," he said.

During the meeting, the importance of opening the second arena to other recreation in the summer was discussed as well. A pullout mat, marked for tennis or volleyball, to lay on the floor for these other recreation events would cost money, but could bring in additional revenue as well.

"We certainly don’t want to hinder utilizing it," Chaffee said. All in attendance at the meeting agreed it would be a waste to lock the doors of the facility because of a lack of use during the spring, summer and part of the fall.

At the end of the meeting, the park and recreation committee voted to move ahead with renovating Riverside Arena. Those improvements are expected to cost about $700,000.

On Monday, they will be meeting for a work session to discuss the operational costs of Riverside and a new sheet of ice. Next Thursday, the committee will question architectural firms about the expected costs of the practice arena. After receiving that information, the city should be able to better determine whether they can afford to build the new arena with their present funding.

"If people are willing to put up $2.3 million, people other than the city, I wouldn’t pass it over lightly," McGarvey cautioned the group.

Call Kevira Mertha at 434-2233 or e-mail her at newsroom@austindailyherald.com.