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News & Record Masthead
December 28, 2003

City, ice rink examine accord

City administrators and the Ice House of Greensboro are reworking some parts of their public-private partnership.

BY TAFT WIREBACK
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO - An agreement should be completed soon to guarantee recreational skaters "ice time" at the Ice House of Greensboro and to give city taxpayers recognition for helping to build the privately owned rink.

Greensboro administrators and operators of the Ice House are working out an agreement to bring the privately owned skating center back in line with terms of a $750,000 construction grant from city government five year ago.

An article in the News & Record earlier this fall detailed several gaps between what the grant called for and how city government was enforcing that agreement.

The skating rink was in compliance with most of the grant's requirements. But it didn't meet one provision of the 1998 construction pact: holding public skating hours on Thursday evening each week.

And it was unclear whether the rink had complied with a requirement to provide $5,000 yearly in free skating time to "disadvantaged youth."

"We're making progress. We're trying to get everything in place," said John Hughes, who manages the city Parks & Recreation Department's youth and community programs.

The Ice House is an enthusiastic partner in working with the city to make improvements, said Scott Ashburn, the rink's general manager.

The two parties hope to have a plan drafted by mid-January, he said.

"I told him (Hughes) that we'll do whatever it takes," Ashburn said. "We want to make it a win-win situation for everybody."

Hughes said that he and Ashburn also are working on something that wasn't in the construction contract but is a good idea nonetheless: acknowledging the thousands of dollars that city taxpayers contributed to the building.

They are planning to put up a plaque or sign that notes the city's contribution, Hughes said.

Municipal government made the contribution to ensure that city residents had a place for recreational skating and such ice sports as amateur hockey, competitive figure skating and speed skating.

But city Officials were loathe to build a completely public rink because of relatively high construction and operating costs. After considering several sites for a public rink, city officials decided a privately owned, privately operated rink would be better.

The building is owned by a private partnership based in Charlotte and a local youth-hockey organization. But it is operated by a Raleigh-area contractor, Ice Ventures, which also has four other ice rinks in the state.

City government also plans to help the Ice House publicize the many recreational opportunities it offers, both Hughes and Ashburn said.

The parks department will advertise the rink's various programs on the city Web site and in other public communications, they said.

The Ice House is located in a spot convenient for much of the Triad, on Landmark Center Boulevard near the Interstate 40/Wendover Avenue intersection in western Greensboro.

But its location isn't highly visible, so the rink is likely to benefit from the increased public awareness that Parks & Recreation Department advertising should create.

Meantime, Hughes said the rink is gathering data to support changing the construction grant's wording so that public skating time isn't required on Thursdays, but on another evening.

Thursday night has evolved into a popular night for organized hockey at the rink, an activity difficult to integrate with recreational figure skating.

One outcome could be to shift the required weekday evening of public skating to Tuesday, Ashburn said. The rink's skating instructors already are on hand that evening, so it would be a good night for newcomers to the sport, he said.

But "nothing is etched in stone, yet," he said.

On the issue of developing a formal program for "disadvantaged youth," city and rink administrators hope to reach a more precise definition of what they want to achieve.

The solution might simply be a more energetic effort by the city to let lower-income families know of the opportunity.

"It would be for youth in general," Hughes said of the initiative, "but I'll be working with all the nonprofits and other organizations that help disadvantaged youth to make sure that everyone has an opportunity."

When complete, the proposal will be presented to the city Parks & Recreation Commission, an appointed group that advises the City Council.

Most such commissions in city government review major initiatives in their areas of government, either to take legislative action on their own or to suggest action they believe the council should take.


Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or twireback@news-record.com


WANT TO GO?

The Ice House has extra hours of public skating most days during the holiday season. Call 852-1515 for information on skating times and admission fees.