Solutions sought for dangerous Palmer ice rink

PALMER -- The outdoor ice rink at Palmer High School is worn out to the point of being dangerous, and the situation has the city council seeking solutions. The rink is owned by the Mat-Su Borough, however, so city officials have been hesitant and wondering out loud if the city should get involved at all. In August, the borough offered a $10,000 grant to the city to fix the ice rink. Twice the city council has put off accepting the money, leaving a $10,000 offer sitting on the table.

The first time around, the council was advised by city manager Tom Healy that if the city accepted the money and rebuilt the rink the city's general liability insurance might have to include coverage for the rink.

Last week, the council tabled the matter again. Some council members wanted a "good enough" fix that could be done for a lot less than $10,000. A minimal repair of the dasher boards could make the rink safe, but the borough's $10,000 grant comes with instructions to replace the entire structure -- including boards, fencing, team boxes and goals.

"This time we tabled [the grant] in order to find a solution where the scope of repair will be scaled back," said council member Brad Hanson.

Hanson is close to the rink. He's a hockey parent, he coaches, and he leads a handful of volunteers who groom the ice and do minor repairs on the rink. Last year at the beginning of the season the volunteers hung a few new sheets plywood at the rink. They also screwed the doors to the team boxes shut because the hinges and latches were compromised by rotted wood.

"That's what hurts the worst, if the door swings open and you run into the wall." Hanson said, "You could hit a corner instead of a flat wall."

Three or four teams practice on the outdoor rink and there are pick-up games and other recreational skaters who use it, according to Hanson. One team comes from Big Lake to skate here because ice time is at a premium during hockey season. The Palmer high team doesn't practice here. They use the indoor Brett Ice Arena in Wasilla. Still, school administrators have been supportive of the community using the ice and the volunteers maintaining it, Hanson said. But the volunteers can only give so much.

"I do it because I have the desire and the time to do it. But when it comes to buying a couple of hundred dollars worth of plywood, I'm not sure I should be the only person doing that," Hanson said.

He's also not comfortable with the idea of investing too much in the rink, because he and other council members want the city to build an indoor facility. That will likely require a bond package and maybe a special election, but Hanson said Palmer could have indoor ice by 2005.

"That's a problem for me. If we're going to commit to building a big rink, then why have this other thing that gets fixed up only to go unused," Hanson said.

The $10,000 is still on the table. On Monday, Healy said discussions with the borough are ongoing and that he expects a rewritten grant offer in time for the city council's Sept. 24 meeting. From a liability standpoint, Healy said the city should be able to repair the rink without having to include an ice arena in its insurance policy.

"I would want to insist that [repairs are] the extent of our participation, and our intent is not to take over operation and maintenance of the facility," Healy said.

Hanson just wants a solution in time for hockey season, even if it means the city extends its insurance coverage.

"We have all sorts of facilities that expose us to liability," Hanson said. "Sure an unmaintained sheet of ice might expose us to more liability, but for very little money we can make it adequate. If you go out and take care of the exposed screws and replace the few sheets of plywood that are bad, I think you can limit the exposure."