Commentary; Posted: 2/4/04

Arena dilemma harkens to days of old

By Cliff Buchan

So here we are in the second month of the new year facing yet another dilemma for the school-owned Maroon and Gold Ice Arena. Should we be surprised? Hardly.

It has been far from a secret that the aging arena is nearing the end of its efficient use without some substantial investment for retrofits or the decision to build a new facility and retire the arena that was built by the community in 1980. It wasnít until the facility fell to school ownership in 1983 that the arena could be properly finished with the ice-making plant that continues to limp along today.

That Maroon and Gold is facing a serious crossroads should be no surprise. The arenaís operation through the community education department has been clear in sending messages for the past three years that a decision day will one day arrive. It is now clear that a decision on the arena must soon be made.

It is truly a sticky wicket of a decision facing the school board and administration. No matter what decision the district chooses to follow it will be subject to second guessing and outright criticism.

The bottom line is will the district be willing to risk some general fund exposure by agreeing to a plan to reopen the facility this fall. If the past holds true, the district will almost certainly face repair costs in the ice-making system that could easily escalate beyond the bottom line mandate that the arena staff has faced in the 21 years the district has operated Maroon and Gold. General fund dollars have never been available to the arena but they might be needed now.

The district and community representatives from the Forest Lake Hockey Association are meeting this month to discuss possible alternative plans that would keep the arena going, possibly on a short-term basis that could last one, two or three years. A decision on the arena is needed in March to allow scheduling for the fall skating season to begin. Short of this alternative being successful, the districtís other options including selling or leasing the facility, or closing the facility.

This is our view on steps weíd like to see the district take with the arena.

Plan to open the arena in the fall, but plan for only one more year of operation. There are unknown costs to be faced but the precedence has long been established that this is a school-run facility. If general fund dollars are needed, they can be found. There remains a possibility that some extra start up costs could be funded by the hockey association. This avenue needs to be explored.

The one-year plan will buy time that is needed to sort out a host of issues. The alternative plan by the hockey association for a moveable ice-making system that could be used at Maroon and Gold is intriguing. But we wonder if the money can be raised by the private sector to get the facility installed at Maroon and Gold in a timely fashion under the specifications the school will certainly require. They may need time to raise these funds and that is where the one year can help.

But the one-year grace period has one other benefit. It will provide time for community center backers to sort out where they are headed for a new civic center on city-owned land near Forest Lake Airport. There is now talk of a November bond issue to get that project started. Some form of ice arena complex has long been included on the wish list for the community center.

If a bond issue is offered and approved by Forest Lake voters, the community center dream will come to life. It will be an incentive to the skating community to again pull its dream to life and ultimately enable the school district to exit from the arena business.

If a bond is offered and defeated by Forest Lake voters, it may signal a new direction for the school. If this scenario plays out, it may be time for the arena to be closed or leased to the hockey association. It may be time for the temporary solution to become more long term.

It is unfortunate that the school districtís decision could be ensnared in community center politics. Some may feel that closing the arena will motivate voters to back a community center project with a new skating facility. It should not be forgotten, however, that without the school district taking on the arena operation in 1983, the area would have been void an important recreational outlet for two full decades. It was the inability to secure community center support from the entire area in the late 1970s that led to the Maroon and Gold as a citizen-built facility.

We would argue the school district should not turn its back on the arena just yet. The commitment and obligation that was approved 21 years ago cannot be washed away by unknown fears and changing politics.

For 21 years this arena management, led by Darrell Nelson, has operated a first-class facility that has maintained financial integrity by making sure operational costs are offset by revenues. True, the debt service of the districtís initial investment has not been factored, but the operation has done all and more that it was asked.

And the arena staff has done so without any extra level of support from the district. This has been a bareboned operation that has received practically no capital funding upgrades. If some of these projects had been addressed in years past as needed, the facility would not face the needs it does today. Funding sources long available were never tapped.

In embarking on its decision 21 years ago, the district said it was willing to take the risks that go with a venture that may truly be the responsibility of the larger community. While the time may soon reach a point where it must end, the ties should not be cut by the school district until time is allowed to see if this area truly will support a community center.

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