Palmer ice rink location chosen

PALMER -- The city's new indoor ice rink will be built on land near Palmer Junior Middle School, the Palmer City Council has decided.

Council members voted 4-1 for the location on Cope Industrial Way during Tuesday's meeting. The 14-acre site is already owned by the city while the alternative, a 20-acre plot near the old Sherrod Elementary School, would have to be purchased.

"It makes economic sense," Council Member Brad Hanson said of the plan.

However, Council Member Tony Pippel cast the dissenting vote. He said site selection shouldn't be made until the city knows how much money it has for the project.

Palmer voters approved a $1.5 million bond in the October election. Earlier, the city bought used ice arena equipment from the shut-down Bonnie Cusack Memorial Ice Arena in Anchorage that is valued at $500,000 to $600,000 if purchased new.

The first phase of development, a bare bones ice rink with rest rooms but no locker rooms, was pegged at $2.1 million in a cost study.

"In hand, you have phase one," Palmer Public Works Superintendent Rick Koch told the council.

But it's still unknown where funding will come from for the extra $1.5 million to complete phase two. Council members have raised the possibility of getting money from the Mat-Su Borough or a grant from the Rasmuson Foundation.

That uncertainty prompted Pippel to ask, "Do we have the cart before the horse here?"

Koch said it's important to make a decision soon in order to begin the construction process. The city won't have ice ready for use in October 2004 if bids don't go out in March 2004, he said.

Council Member John Combs supported the middle school site, saying, "It will keep costs down, and hopefully it'll free up some of that bond money for other recreation uses the public wants to see."

He noted that the 14 acres near Palmer Junior Middle offers plenty of room to develop a three-acre ice rink and other facilities.

Pippel argued that, although the old Sherrod site is costlier, it offers more for the city. He emphasized that land for large developments is quickly vanishing in the Palmer area, saying the ice rink's location shouldn't be driven by desire to get started as soon as possible on what he called a "minimalist" phase one.

"I think those 20 acres are critical to us," Pippel said. "Once you site this building, it's there forever."

Council members Steve Carrington and Ken Erbey joined Combs and Hanson in voting for the middle school site.

Phase two of the rink will include locker rooms and a jogging track around the ice, as well as other amenities. City officials have discussed the ice arena as part of a multi-use complex featuring BMX bicycling areas and other facilities for youths and families.