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Now that the city has committed to repairing the collapsed roof of the Jay Lively ice rink, it may rebuild the aging structure into a first-class facility:


Ice arena to stay in city hands
By DANIEL BERK
Arizona Daily Sun
February 10, 2010

Dozens of members of the Flagstaff hockey and skating community were out in full force Tuesday night at the Flagstaff City Council meeting to voice their support for Jay Lively Ice Arena to remain in control of the city, rather than a private or outside group. It appears they'll get their wish, even before any cost estimates come in on what it will take to repair the fallen roof or rebuild the arena entirely. The roof collapsed Jan. 21 under the weight of heavy snow.

Mayor Sara Presler and a majority of the city council voiced their support for the rink to remain being run by the city rather than a private group, and a sale of Jay Lively has been ruled out. The concern of the users of the rink was that outside or private ownership would drive up the prices of ice-time, pricing out a large portion of the Flagstaff skating community. Under city ownership, prices to use the rink should remain unchanged. Several members of the community spoke in support of the rink to remain in the city's control. Mark Williams, a coach with the Flagstaff Youth Hockey Association read an e-mail from Rachelle Lively Duncan, the sister of the late Jay Lively, advocating the safe rebuilding of the rink and for it to remain in the city's control.

TIME OF THE ESSENCE

Now, the focus will shift to getting the rink rebuilt safer than ever and in a quick fashion. "Everyone with the city has been very positive," said Williams. "I'm aware it's city government and things take time. Everybody in there doesn't want to wait. That's the biggest hurdle right now. Time is of the essence or else it will get forgotten." A.J. Fairchild, the director of the NAU hockey club, said the city may have ruled out the privatization of Jay Lively too early. "The city has a lot of trouble, as all municipalities do," Fairchild said. "Things are difficult. They are working under a deficit. There seems to be a strong resistance to private ownership or even a discussion about it. I like the fact that all of the city council members want to get it rebuilt, but in a budget shortfall, it's certainly going to be difficult." Councilmember Scott Overton said the city has a "tremendous opportunity to rebuild Jay Lively into a first-class facility." He agreed with Fairchild that given the city's budget problems, it may be in the best interest not to rule out the possibility of working with outside groups. "Looking at it from a fiscal perspective, it think it is reasonable to pursue a public/private partnership or consider a sale to a private party," he said.

NO TEMPORARY ICE RINK YET

Neither the council nor staff were able to offer a timeline on when a temporary or permanent ice rink would be established. The city is continuing to meet with its insurance carrier regarding the settlement for the damage. Williams has been gathering support for the rink to be rebuilt but has run into some initial challenges. "We've had contact with the National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association and they want to get involved and they want to help, but they don't know how to help," Williams said. "We don't know how to tell them to help. It's the city's thing to say we need to put money here or this is how we can use the money there."

Several scenarios for the future of the rink were discussed Tuesday. One of the leading proposals was to purchase a portable rink from the city of Williams that hasn't been used in at least two years. City officials have been in contact with Williams but a deal hadn't been reached as of Tuesday night. Caitlin Peterson, an employee at Jay Lively and a member of the Flagstaff figure skating club, said if a temporary rink is brought in from Williams, she would like it inside an existing building. "As far as a temporary sheet of ice without an enclosure, it will only be for a month or so," Peterson said. "To get something under a roof is ideal for everybody, especially if it takes longer to rebuild the rink."

Another possibility would be for the city to build a temporary, makeshift rink outside of Jay Lively Ice Arena. Several members of the youth hockey community said they've found success building makeshift rinks in their back yards. Councilmember Coral Evans, who herself played for years on a competitive hockey team at Jay Lively, said the city will find ways to improve the aging facility. "Now we are going to get a state-of-the-art ice rink we should have gotten 40 years ago," Evans said.