July 21, 2005 at 6:31 a.m.
Board approves commitment to improve CL Ice Arena
Board approves commitment to improve CL Ice Arena
The Center Ice Club July 14 brought a proposal to the board to construct a new locker room at the arena to allow space for both the girls and boys hockey teams.
The proposal includes a commitment from the school district to increase its lease of the facility by $15,000 a year to help pay the $20,000 loan payments on the project. The district already pays $38,000 to use the facility each year.
The arena project also includes a roughed-in weight room on the second floor, adjacent to the existing concession stand and vestibule.
Kevin Baumgard, project mananger and a representative for the ice club, told the board the estimated cost of the project if it was bid out entirely would be $275,000. He said that number will be significantly decreased with the help of volunteer labor and donated materials on the project.
“We have at least 40 people lined up ready to provide volunteer labor with expertise in certain areas,” he said. The volunteer efforts would amount to cost savings of about $90,000 on the project, he added, bringing the estimate down to around $180,000.
The club requested that the board sign a 15-year agreement of $15,000 per year, essentially paying off the majority of the loan. The ice facility will still be owned entirely by Arena, Inc. at the end of the contracted terms.
Board members agreed that the district should contribute to improving the facilities to comply with Title 9 requirements to provide adequate facilities for female athletes. Some members were hesitant, however, to enter into such a long-term agreement.
“You’re asking for a guarantee that there will be girls and boys hockey in the district for 15 years,” Board Chair Mark Leigh said. “How do we know there will be a program at all?”
The real issue, Leigh explained, is that the $15,000 would be levied through a lease levy option allowed by the state. The money comes as a taxpayer levy to lease space at facilities if the school does not have its own space for specific sports. Leigh said no one can know how long the state will allow districts to levy for leases.
“If something should happen and we lose state funding, we would be responsible for that $15,000 and then it would start coming from the general fund,” Leigh said.
Business manager Heide Miller said the legislature has included the lease levy option for the next school year, but only to cover 90 percent of any lease. “After that, it will return to 100 percent coverage,” she said.
Baumgard said the club and hockey players could easily fundraise for the other 10 percent during the first year of the loan. The club also made a commitment to pay the rest of the yearly loan payment of $5,000 as the district contributes $15,000 a year.
Board member Wade Carlson was more optimistic about the lease levy option.
“There’s a push at the state to fund more at the local level so I don’t think that levy is going away,” Carlson said. “My feeling is there’s really no reason to wait to make a decision on this. It’s a risk you have to take and the Title 9 thing is going to bite us one of these days.”
The club has paid $1,900 in architectural fees to have drawings completed on the project. Baumgard said they were hoping for approval from the board by Aug. 1 when the group wants to begin the permitting process. “Then the project could be completed by the time the season starts,” he said.
To cover some of the yearly costs to the district, activity fees may have to be raised for hockey players. Baumgard said he has talked with several parents who wouldn’t have a problem increasing the activity fee for hockey by $100 a year so the facilities could be improved. The increase would amount to around $7,000 – almost half of what the district’s payment would be each year.
Miller said she spoke with CLHS Principal Dave Ertl, who wasn’t in favor of increasing activity fees for the high school athletes because other players may start using the arena.
She also said while the district has not received any Title 9 complaints about the arena facilities, it is a definite possibility. When an inspector stopped in the arena after inspecting a district facility, she said, his only comment was, “this isn’t good.”
Girls Hockey Head Coach Al Magnuson said he didn’t foresee any complaints coming from his squad. “They just want to play hockey,” he said. “I don’t want to have to take space from the boys team, but they deserve adequate facilities.”
Boys Hockey Head Coach Corey McKinnon said it hasn’t been a good situation for either team, but particularly the girls. “I think we have a unique opportunity here,” he said. “It’s not very often you see a girls team with the patience that they have and you have a group of parents here to support this project.”
Board member Lori Berg said it might be more costly for the district following a Title 9 complaint, because it would force the district to comply and update the facilities on top of paying a fine.
Superintendent Mike McLoughlin, attending his first school board meeting afer being hired in March, was asked if he had an opinion about the issue. He asked some questions, but said he would refrain from comment until he could spend time going through all of the information.
Leigh asked if a compromise on the length of the contract could be reached. Club representatives were hesitant to agree to a shortened contract, but were hopeful they could at least get board approval so the project can move ahead.
Leigh proposed a 10-year contract instead. “We guarantee payments for 10 years and then another five if we are able to specifically levy for it,” he said. “Then they’re risking a little bit, but 10 years is a long time and we’re taking the risk on the front end.”
The board unanimously approved the 10-year commitment with the stipulation that the district would cover the last five years of payments if the lease levy option is still available.
Coke vs. Pepsi at high school
Students will now be able to choose Coca Cola or Pepsi when making a vending machine purchase at CLHS. The exclusive contract with Coke for providing beverages at the high school is now over, Miller said, so the district will now go with a 50-50 agreement between Coke and Pepsi for vending services.
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