Mayor shares complaints about ice rink

     During the Feb. 20 Monticello City Council meeting, Mayor Dave Goedken took time to address some complaints he said he's received regarding the Parks and Recreation Department's ice-skating rink.

   For the past several years, the rink required multiple hours of set-up and tear down using a tarp-like structure that needed to be filled by one of the fire department's water trucks. A truck could only be used if temperatures were around 30 degrees.

   The structure had to be refilled multiple times due to holes in the tarps. Parks and Rec staff could never get a nice, smooth surface.

   This winter, Parks and Rec relocated the ice rink to a ball field between the football field and the school's bus barns. The field was flooded using a water tanker and a nearby fire hydrant.

   The field had to be refilled multiple times in this case as well, but mainly due to fluctuating temperatures.

   Goedken said he had been contacted by a few people regarding whether this location was "the best of intentions" and whether it really was saving the department money.

   "The way it worked out, it did not provide a nice, safe surface to skate on," he said. "Why did we change (locations) in the first place?"

   He said Willow Shelter, where the previous rink was set up, provided a stable surface, shelter, lights, and a parking lot.

   "The ice was contained within the rink versus outside," he added.

   Goedken also mentioned a post on the Parks and Rec Facebook page in which staff asked for the community's help to shovel snow off the ice.

   "Under the shelter, there was no snow," he said. "In all of the other sports (you offer), do people have to take part in maintaining the fields? Do they help with programs?"

   Goedken said he was not going to share the source of these concerns to avoid personal attacks on Facebook.

   Council member Chris Lux commented that the old tarp structure they used for the ice rink was no longer feasible.

   "We'll need to buy another tarp," she said.

   Council member Scott Brighton, who's also the Parks and Rec liaison, said a new tarp could cost about $900.

   "There were issues with that system," he added.

   Parks and Rec Director Jacob Oswald said they tried patching the tarp multiple times and it continued to leak. He said his department could certainly look at a new tarp, a cost of perhaps $1,500. He said it might only last for two years or so.

   "It's not a wise decision," he offered.

   "You can find the funding," urged Goedken.

   After a couple of Parks and Rec board meetings, he said they came up with a new plan for the ice rink.

   Council member Tom Yeoman said any type of ice rink outside is contingent upon the temperatures.