No new frills due to insurance/budgetary constraints, but the ice rink roof will be replaced in time for the fall hockey season:
The Jay Lively Ice Rink has had all traces of the old roof removed leaving the concrete
floor and support rooms waiting for a decision from the Flagstaff City Council about how
it will be rebuilt.
(photo: Jake Bacon)
Council scores Lively hat trick
by JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
April 7, 2010
The Flagstaff City Council scored a hat trick with its unanimous approval Tuesday of a contract to rebuild the Jay Lively ice rink in time for a fall opening. The reopening will be just after the youth hockey season starts in the fall,
the project results in a full replacement of the arena, and the new roof will be reinforced and able to withstand much heavier snow loads. For hundreds of local hockey athletes and figure skaters, the contract means they finally will be able to get back on the ice after months of driving down to Phoenix or practicing inside the Flagstaff Aquaplex on basketball courts.
Dan Holmes, a project manager with the city, told the Council he believes the city could have skaters back on the ice in as little as five months. "Our goal is to have ice back in late September or early October," Holmes said. He cautioned that
requests for a second sheet of ice, additional bleachers, expanded seating for spectators, a concessions area, an expanded pro shop and other amenities could not be fulfilled without additional financing. "We are severely constrained by what the insurance will or will not fund," Holmes said. City Manager Kevin Burke said city staff is continuing to negotiate with the city's insurance company. The city's insurance policy only covers the cost of the full replacement value of the rink. "We are having some challenges trying to recoup what we think we are owed under the insurance settlement," Burke conceded. City officials estimate the insurance settlement will be more worth more than $1 million.
A new request did come to light during the Tuesday night Council meeting. A local group wanted the city to rebuild the rink to the green building standard known as LEED Silver, a standard the council established last year. But Holmes was skeptical the building could be built to the green building code without an additional cost. The contract approved Tuesday night went to Flagstaff-based Loven Contracting. Mike Loven, the owner of Loven Contracting, said the rebuilt rink will look a lot like the old rink. "What was there at the time of the collapse will be there again, but new," he said.
The fate of a proposed temporary ice rink this spring and summer for figure skaters and hockey teams wasn't discussed on Tuesday night. Deputy City Manager Ben Fisk said the city is still investigating possible locations to house a temporary rink. Local clubs that practiced at Jay Lively prior to the collapse were skeptical of a proposed plan that would have borrowed a quarter-sheet ice rink from the city of Williams. Several people from both FYHA and the Flagstaff Figure Skating Club said the temporary rink would have been too small to be useful. But the home-ice advantage, it turns out, wasn't necessary this year for at least two teams in the Flagstaff Youth Hockey Association. FYHA's bantam team and pee wee "red team" each captured a Sonoran League Championship in March, despite having just four on-ice practices apiece following the roof collapse on Jan. 21.