In advance of the special Town Meeting next month, where members will be asked to appropriate an additional $2.1 million toward the municipal skating rink budget, residents had the opportunity to air concerns and ask questions of the committee tasked with overseeing the rink’s construction.
The public forum, hosted by the Municipal Skating Rink Building Committee on May 22 and moderated by Town Moderator Mike Widmer, began with an introduction by Chair Mark Haley.
Haley explained that two options are on the table: Option A, which involves asking Town Meeting for an additional $2.1 million so the building’s functionality can largely be maintained, and Option B, which involves cutting roughly $4 million out of the estimated cost to bring the project back to its $29.9 million budget. In the latter option, programming and functionality are sacrificed.
According to Haley, the budget overrun was the result of trade costs, site challenges, scheduling delays, and regulatory changes.
As of May 20, the committee had shaved roughly $2.3 million off the $34.4 million cost estimate. In Option A, through a process called value engineering, the design was reduced by 2,584 feet, resulting in a smaller lobby and the elimination of the arcade area. Additionally, solar panels were removed from the design, amounting to a $1.3 million savings. Instead, the roof will be solar-ready, allowing for installation at a later date. Option A also involves adding a CO2 refrigeration system in place of the freon system, which is less environmentally friendly and would cost the town more in the long run compared to the CO2 system.
“This project was already approved by the town,” said Precinct 6 Town Meeting member Sue Croy. “I feel my responsibility as a Town Meeting member is not to guess if the project should go forward; it’s to help it go forward, to help the town try to get what we all voted for and what so many people wanted.”
“The thing about Option B is it’s not what the taxpayers voted for,” said Precinct 6 Town Meeting member Gail Mann.
Some residents, however, expressed concern for the likely elimination of the solar panels on the roof.
“I, too, voted for the rink, but I would not have voted for it if it didn’t have solar panels,” said Brian Iler.
Iler noted delaying the installation would result in a more costly purchase in the future. He also noted the operational cost savings of solar panels.
“These aren’t just feel-good tree-hugger things to put on the roof, they will save the town year after year,” he said.
Residents also asked questions about operational cost comparisons.
Town Administrator Patrice Garvin responded that last season, from November to March, the town paid roughly $42,000 for rink rentals. As for the operational costs of a new building, maintenance will fall under the Facilities Department. The town will have a rink manager to oversee daily operations. School Committee Chair Meg Moriarty added that while there were no transportation costs, that was a result of placing the burden on parents and students to handle transport.
“That budget [for rink operations], as of right now, lives within the town administration because we want to get the rink up and running,” Garvin said. “There’s obviously going to be other staff that’s going to be added. The goal was to add a rink manager first and bring that person on before the building was completed so we could start working on staffing.”
Special Town Meeting, State Dollars
Where the money will come from remains to be determined. One potential funding source, however, is Kendall Insurance—a reserve account created following a fire at the former Kendall School in 1999. According to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, there is about $2.1 million in the account.
Other possible avenues for funding include the capital endowment fund and capitalization stabilization funds.
“I have grave concerns about draining the Kendall Fund,” said Peg Callanan, who expressed frustration in general that residents weren’t made aware of the project’s budgetary issues sooner.
Committee members, echoing Select Board Chair Roy Epstein earlier this week, said the additional funds won’t come out of the taxpayers’ pockets. However, increasing the project budget could result in some degree of opportunity costs.
The question of fundraising efforts was also raised.
Lucinda Zuniga said $1.3 million has already been raised toward the overall borrowing, including a $1 million grant intention from Belmont Savings Bank Foundation and a $100,000 grant that Rep. Dave Rogers helped to secure. Hockey families, meanwhile, have committed roughly $200,000. The fundraising group is open to corporate and matching donations, she said.
“We have fundraising ongoing to help bridge this gap,” she said.
The committee received confirmation from Sen. Will Brownsberger that the state may also be able to offer some relief.
“If the town approves the expenditure for natural refrigerants for the rink, the town can count on receiving $750,000 from the state to cover that expenditure,” Brownsberger said in a statement. “And if there is any leftover may use the funds to cover other environmental compliance costs.”
