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3.2. SR 10-15-2001TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: MEMORANDUM Mayor and City Council Pat Klaers, City Administrator October 15, 2001 Consider Removal of Ice Arena (Old) Bleachers Item # 3.2 Please see the attached memo from Ice Arena Manager Rich Czech regarding the removal of the bleachers upstairs in the Barn. Additionally, the attached memo provides a brief update on the new bleachers on the eastside of the Olympic Rink. Recommendation It is recommended that the old bleachers upstairs in the Barn be removed and not repaired for future use in the arena. ELK RIVER ARENA 1000 SCHOOL STREET N.W. ELK RIVER, MN 55330 (763) 441 - 2956 Fax (763) 241 - 9432 To: Elk River City Council, Mayor From: Rich Czech, Arena Manager Date: October 15, 2001 Subject: Removal of Arena Bleachers in the Barn / Update on new Olympic Bleachers The Bleachers on the south end of Barn will not comply with the new state bleacher laws that will go into effect January 2002. The bleachers violate several of the new codes, it is estimated to cost about $6,000.00 to bring them up to the 2002 codes. Discussion took place at the Spring Arena Commission meeting regarding these bleachers. The commission discussed the expense to have these bleachers brought up to compliance versus the amount of time the bleachers would be used. Both the Girls and Boys Elk River High School Hockey teams use the Olympic rink for their games and Monticello High School has moved their program to Buffalo. The only High School team using the Barn for home games is the Becker Big Lake High School hockey team. Their attendance is between 75 - 150 spectators, the main bleachers in the Barn are designed to handle twice this amount so the bleachers are not needed for their games. It was further discussed that the south end bleachers are not really used for any other events except the Circus, in which portable bleachers could be brought in. Discussion took place regarding using this space for office, meeting rooms, and or storage in the future. The Arena Commission voted 5 - 0 to recommend to the City Council to have the south end bleachers removed from the Barn. I also recommended that the bleachers be removed from the south end of the Barn. If the council approves to have the bleachers removed from this area it will be fenced off until a decision can be made on how the space will be used. The Arena will be working with Phil Hauls and the Sentence to Serve program (S.T.S) to remove and store the bleachers. The new bleachers on the eastside of the Olympic hnk are on schedule. The P.A. system is in place and the heating system should be in operation within a few days. They will be starting the bleachers October 15th and should be able to complete them within two weeks. The first home Girl's game is scheduled for Saturday December 1st and the Boy's first game is scheduled for Saturday November 24t~. The home side will be the westside of the bleachers and the eastside (new bleachers) will be the visitor's side. Ice Arena Commission Minutes Page 2 April 3, 2001 revenue transfer from reserves for the matting improvement. It was noted that a number of budget projections for 2001 will be off based on the 2000 actual figures and that the 2000 figures will be a good basis for the planning of the 2002 budget. Commissioner Anderson requested information on the concession agreement. Mr. Czech and Ms. Johnson explained the arrangements with youth hockey and the rent that is paid to the city. Mr. Czech and Ms. Johnson explained the recreation program revenues and how this is distinguished from ice rental revenue. The potential separation of the Rogers group from ERYHA and the potential construction of a new ice arena facility in Rogers were discussed. It was noted that such plans would not likely impact the 2001 or the 2002 budgets, but may impact budgets in a few years. 6. Discuss Status of South End Bleachers in the Barn Discussion took place regarding the cost to repair the bleachers upstairs on the south end of the barn as compared to the need to use these bleachers. The general consensus of the commission was that the use of these bleachers did not justify this additional $6,000 expenditure. Reuse of the area for office space and meeting room space was discussed. Mr. Czech was directed to obtain cost information on various options. It was noted that these options would not just include the erection of some walls, but would also include heat, ventilation, equipment, furniture, etc. Discussion took place on whether or not the city should undertake the construction of offices and rent space to various groups or whether or not the city should partner with youth hockey on this project. No consensus was reached on this issue. COMMISSIONER ANDERSON MOVED TO RECOMMEND TO THE CITY COUNCIL THAT THE UPSTAIRS BLEACHERS ON THE SOUTH END OF THE BARN NOT BE REPAIRED AND THAT THEY ARE REMOVED IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH THE BLEACHER STATE LAW AND FURTHERMORE, THAT MR. CZECH PROVIDE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COMMISSION ON OPTIONS FOR OFFICE SPACE IN THIS AREA. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. A brief discussion took place regarding how the bleachers would be removed and what cost would be incurred for this work. 7. Discuss the New Bleachers in the Olympic Rink Mr. Czech indicated that additional bleachers would complete the Olympic arena and would be beneficial in addressing crowd control and security issues during high school games. Currently bleachers can hold about 400 spectators and there are about 800 spectators attending each game. While there are some spectators that prefer to stand, there are about 300 that would like seats but which are not available.