Article 7: Municipal manager outlines APRA proposal for Ice Center
February 15, 2022 Since the select board has completed work on the budget and on the articles voters will be asked to consider at Town Meeting, I have been asked about the board’s proposal to appropriate funds to the Ice Center. Some have wondered if the board is proposing to take over ownership of the facility. The answer to that is NO. Here are the facts voters need about the proposal and to understand why I made the recommendation for this appropriation.
In Special Article #7 of the warning for the annual meeting, the select board asks voters to appropriate $100,000 of American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds to the Ice Center of Washington West. This private not-for-profit recreation facility has made Waterbury its home for nearly 20 years. Supporters raised and borrowed over $2.6 million to build the Ice Center and opened it in 2003. Except for $300,000 provided by the town and village to improve the road and to build water and sewer mains to the site, no municipal money has been used to operate or maintain the facility.
The center has been uniquely challenged by the COVID pandemic. It was forced to close completely for five months in 2020 and no revenue was generated during the shutdown. Payroll expenses, mortgage payments, liability insurance and utilities bills along with other expenses continued to come due each month. While monthly revenue is starting to pick up now after a re-opening early last fall, business is returning slowly. Re-opening has come with its own challenges, as well, as it became necessary to implement a number of protocols to promote public health and safety among skaters, forcing labor costs up dramatically.
The center has had to spend a significant amount from its reserve funds to meet expenses during this period of cash flow deficits. The select board proposes to make this one time appropriation to the Ice Center to allow it to re-capitalize its reserves, allowing necessary capital improvements to be made and to provide a more stable financial footing for the business.
Untold numbers of youth and adults alike have used and enjoyed this facility over the past two decades. Local businesses benefit as the influx of visitors to the rink spill out into our downtown and beyond to buy gas, shop, visit restaurants and perhaps spend a night or two in a local hotel. I hope voters will see this as an opportunity for the town to invest in this important community facility, especially when the investment can be accomplished at no cost to local property tax payers.
Sincerely,
William A. Shepeluk
Waterbury Municipal Manager