Tanner and Trevor Berglund gave the county’s 16’x16’ synthetic ice sample a try a few days after it arrived. Opinions on the artificial ice have been mixed. The Cook County Amateur Hockey Association does want it, however, but would like to wait to have a concrete pad in place before the county invests in a full-sized rink of the synthetic material.
It might be time to get cracking on a new hockey rink in Grand Marais. Birch Grove Community Center is getting one with 1 Percent Recreation and Infrastructure Tax funding, and the Cook County Hockey Association is drumming its fingers on the table wondering when its long-time request for a new rink in Grand Marais will be granted.
Community Center Director Diane Booth along with a couple of representatives of the Cook County Hockey Association appealed to the county board on October 11, 2011 to consider separating plans for a new hockey rink from the overall community center project that is now on hold until participation from the City of Grand Marais is ascertained.
After trying out a 16’x 16’ sample of synthetic ice being considered as a way to give hockey kids more ice time now that the Cook County Curling Club will be extending its curling season, the Hockey Association wants to wait a year before ordering an entire rink of synthetic ice. Booth said local reviews were mixed on how the material performed, and the association decided they would rather put it on a perfectly level new surface rather than trying to make it work on the dirt foundation of the current hockey rink or on the tennis courts as proposed. The association also wants to see how the weather affects it. Hockey mom Gale Anderson said the association does want the synthetic ice as well as a new rink.
Originally, a new hockey rink was considered one of the outdoor recreational amenities to be funded by the 1 percent tax separately from a new community center, but it ended up being rolled into the community center project. Anderson said the association would like to see the hockey rink separated out again since the community center project is on hold.
Another unknown with the proposed new community center is where it would be located. Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said that since several potential spots have been identified, it would be safe to go ahead with building a rink directly north of the current Community Center. “It would be kind of nice to accommodate and get some work done on this,” he said, adding that the association has been hoping for a new rink for years. “We do have a number of excellent locations for the community center,” he said.
Losing some of its ice time to the Curling Club is jeopardizing the hockey program, hockey grandparent Larry Gamer said. They need to get the program up and running soon in order to keep the program alive, he said, and sending young kids to Silver Bay to practice is hard on them. He said the association would like to get the dirt work done this fall so it could have a chance to settle and be ready for concrete next year.
Anderson asked the board to direct community center architects, The Meyer Group, to draw up plans for a new hockey rink. She also recommended building a warming house or “field house” with a concession stand that could be used by softball programs as well. She pointed out architectural drawings for a rink and warming house at Birch Grove Community Center, saying something like what they have would be nice.
Commissioner Sobanja made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Martinson, to separate the hockey rink out of the community center project and start working on it.
The county’s consultant on the 1 percent projects, ORB Management, and The Meyer Group will be at the October 18 county board meeting and the issue will be discussed further at that time.
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