Ice Den skaters face fee increases

The city of Whitefish is considering an increase in ice skating fees at the Stumptown Ice Den to cover long-delayed maintenance and increasing operation costs at the facility.

A proposal from the city Parks and Recreation department looks to increase hourly ice rental fees by 45 percent. City Council decided May 18 to hold a public hearing on the matter in July.

The proposal looks at increasing fees across the board by $45 in order to cover the annual deficit the facility has incurred of about $130,000 in the last few years.

The change being considered is to increase the non-primetime rate from $65 to $110, the regular hours rate from $115 to $160, and the primetime rate from $175 to $220.

The main source of revenue for the facility is collected in ice rental fees, according to Parks and Recreation Maria Butts.

“We’re looking at ways to operate year-round, cover operation and maintenance expenses and deferred maintenance,” Butts said. “We’d also like to create an operation contingency fund.”

The Ice Den ice rental fees are significantly lower than those of similar rinks throughout the country, she noted.

Butts pointed to numbers from the nonprofit organization for ice rinks, American Rinks, which shows the national average ice rental fee to be $300 to $350 per hour. By removing higher priced rinks on the coasts and in the south, the average rental fee is closer to $225 per hour.

City Council earlier this year approved a request from the Glacier Skate Academy for an extension of the spring ice season and an early opening in the fall. In addition, council directed city staff to further investigate operating with year-round ice.

The Ice Den began operating with a six month season and by 2011 had increased to an eight-month season. Last year the season grew to nearly 11 months.

The six month season brought in an average profit of about $1,300. A deficit developed when the facility increased the season. The average deficit from 2008 to 2011 was $52,000. From 2012 to 2014, the deficit increased to about $130,000.

Without an increase in rental fees, Butts is projecting a fiscal year 2016 deficit of $184,985.

“In the past we’ve operated on a basic budget and only had reactionary maintenance,” Butts said.

Jason Loveless, parks superintendent, explained that the Ice Den operates with a refrigeration system that is commercial grade and designed for a six month season on an outdoor rink.

“Since the system was moved indoors, we have been extending the season length as well as the operating hours of the facility with little increase of ice rates to compensate for the necessary repair and maintenance due to the increase wear and tear on the current systems,” he said. “Ice arenas are very expensive to operate and maintain. As the mechanical and refrigeration system age, they require more and more maintenance and repairs.”

The city is also faced with the phase-out of the refrigerant the system uses and the cost of it is expected to increase drastically, according to Loveless. The system held 600 pounds of refrigerant in 2006 and the cost to fill the system at that time was about $1,200. The current cost to refill the system would be just over $9,000.

Loveless said the city needs to plan ahead for the phase-out.

“The goal of the phase-out of the gas is to make it more practical to replace the equipment rather than buy the gas, so we can expect the price to keep rising,” he said. “By 2020 all production and importing of this gas will be banned.”

The city is facing an unknown this summer as it plans to open the system to make repairs. In June, the chiller barrel will be opened and inspected. Butts said if it is more than 25 percent damaged it will have to be replaced.

The cost just to replace the barrel is about $100,000 and the ice rink would be closed for three months while the part is built, shipped and installed.

Butts said that could impact the extended fall ice season, which is tentatively set with an opening date of Aug. 10.

“I don’t want it to impact the ice season,” she said. “But I’d rather it impact the beginning of the season than having it break down in the middle of the season.”

Deferred maintenance for the refrigeration equipment is estimated at $40,000 and deferred maintenance for the building is estimated at a cost of $52,000.

Councilor Jen Frandsen asked if it’s a waste of money to spend on maintenance of the refrigeration system rather than replacing it.

Loveless said the answer is yes and no.

“It would be better if we buy a new system and we wouldn’t have to deal with the deferred maintenance and the deferred problems we’ve been chasing,” he said. “But we don’t have the money sitting around either. To continue running and providing ice I would say it’s not a waste.”

A 2012 evaluation of the Ice Den noted that installing an industrial refrigeration system could cost around $600,000.

Ice Rink user groups spoke about the impact a rate increase could have on their programs.

Glacier Skate director Chad Goodwin asked if some of the deferred maintenance costs could be spread out over time.

“We’re preparing our summer camp with an hourly rate of $125 per hour,” Goodwin said. “A 45 percent increase in one season is a big jump. That could really affect our families that can participate in the programs.”

Cari Elden asked for balance in determining ice rates.

“As a community we all benefit from the Ice Den,” she said. “We need to keep in mind what is affordable for our town for ice rates. My concern is if you get too high with the rates is it will cut out a lot of people.”

Kelly Davidson, with the Whitefish Wolverines hockey team, said the city needs to look at the shoulder seasons as ways to increase use to generate more revenue rather than increasing the hourly rates.

“It’s important to be cautious connecting an increase in fees to an increase in revenue,” she said. “I think what would likely happen is that user groups will reduce the ice time they use.”