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6.6. SR 05-24-1999 rt( -'\( ( if eity of 1Y Ell{ River Item #6.6. MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor & City Council Pat Klaers, City Afl)m~rator May 24, 1999 IF FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Ice Arena Capital Improvements Based on available funding, the Ice Arena was constructed as a "bare bones" facility and the goal was to have "four walls and a sheet of ice." The city has accomplished this goal, but many additional improvements are needed in order to have the type of facility everyone can enjoy and one that everyone envisions when you talk about a complete or finished ice arena building. Truly, the Elk River facility is a work in progress. . One improvement which has recently taken place is the completion of the new dehumidification and heating system. This capital investment has made a significant improvement in the comfort level at the arena for the customers. Another improvement which is nearing completion is the effort of the Youth Hockey Association on the locker rooms. The next highest priority and most major concern is the ice resurfacer. This equipment need has been discussed frequently by the Ice Arena Commission. There are other concerns, both capital and operating, that the commission is concerned with including retrofitting the old bleachers, additional bleachers for the new arena, future repairs/replacement of the old arena floor and roof, completing the landscaping around the facility, increasing overall revenues, etc., but the ice resurfacer has risen to the top of the list of immediate concerns. . The current ice resurfacer is old, still functional, but requires lots of maintenance. Two sheets of ice cause too much wear and tear on this one machine, and, if this machine goes down for either a short or an extended period of time, the arena is in trouble in terms of lost ice rental revenues. In this regard, last year the city arranged for a back-up machine and is leasing one on a year to year basis from the Big Lake/Becker Association. This back- up machine is even older than our existing machine and how long this machine will stay functional and how long the machine will be available to us are ongOIng Issues. 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330. TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420. Fax: (612) 441-7425 . . . Groups which enter into a rental agreement with the city expect to have the facility available with good ice, and this would not be true if the ice resurfacer was down. If the ice resurfacer was down, it may be possible to find another machine within the Twin City area to rent, but this also would take time to arrange and each prime time hour without rent from both sheets of ice is over $250 per hour of lost revenue. How to finance this piece of equipment has been the biggest stumbling block to this purchase. Options include using equipment reserves, using the Holt/Jackson land sale revenues, or using the 2000 equipment certificate budget. The decision regarding using equipment certificates can be made at budget time, but our overall equipment certificate amount may already be too high with the new street department truck that has been ordered. I don't like presenting this request to the council without the two newly elected officials having a better feel of the big picture regarding the budget, the capital improvement program, and specifically, the equipment requests. However, it should be noted that this ice resurfacer is not much different than the street department's trucks, the fire department chassis for tanker #2 which is coming out of the reserve budget in 1999, or the $60-$80,000 in police car purchases that happen annually. The ice resurfacer has been a concern since day one and now that the heat/dehumidification problem has been resolved, it seems appropriate to tackle this next problem. Regarding why this issue is coming forward now, the answer is twofold; one, the Holt/Jackson revenue seems close and two, a new ice resurfacer requires 200 days lead time between date of order and date of receipt. Hopefully this delivery timeframe can be shortened up and the 200 days lead time is a conservative number for the vendors, but, if we start now with City Council approval to advertise for bids, we then can consider bids on June 14 and receive the machine on or before January 1, 2000. Regarding the type of machine to purchase, it is recommended that the city pursue a battery operated ice resurfacer. We do not want to purchase a propane fueled ice resurfacer as there is the threat or concern of health problems associated with a propane fueled ice resurfacer within an enclosed arena. I think we read about health scares every winter in one arena or another with this type of machine. In the long run, the battery operated machine will be best, especially considering our Energy City status. While the purchase cost is higher for this machine versus a propane fueled machine, the operating expenses are anticipated to be lower. It is expected that the ice resurfacer will be in the $80,000 range plus tax and shipping, compared to a propane fueled machine which would be in the $65,000 range. . . . There are only two companies that make ice resurfacers; Olympic and Zamboni. However, only Zamboni provides a battery operated ice resurfacer. Lots of arenas are now purchasing the battery operated machine and it is somewhat surprising that Olympic does not offer this product. Nonetheless, none of the communities contacted have had any problems with the open bidding procedure in their efforts to purchase a battery operated ice resurfacer. If the City Council concurs that this piece of equipment is needed, then the council should consider authorizing the advertisement for bids at this time so that a machine can be available this next skating season. The funding for the machine should be decided at this time although it could be changed later during 2000 budget discussions when other capital expenditures are identified and funding is discussed. \ \ elkriver \ sys \ shrdoc \ council \ zamboni.doc . ELK RIVER ARENA 1000 SCHOOL STREET ELK RIVER, MN 55330 To: Mayor and City Council From Rich Czech, Arena Manager Date: May 21, 1999 Subject: Ice Resurfacer The existing Zamboni has just completed its fifteenth season. The Zamboni has been a very reliable machine over its year of service, however it has shown signs of its age recently. Over the last couple of seasons we have found ourselves repairing and replacing parts more frequently thus making the machine less reliable than before. With two sheets of ice the Zamboni is now worked even harder. With the age of the current Zamboni it is just a matter of time before a major repair will be needed. Experience has shown that these repairs usually come at the most inconvenient times, during a resurface, in the middle of the season. If the machine does go down during the season, it could result in thousands of dollars in lost revenues not to mention the frustration of our customers, . I feel the existing machine would make a good back up, which could be used when resurfacing times over lap, second machine during Varsity games, and when a new machine would need service. The last few years we have 'dAj~ second Zamboni from Becker Big Lake Youth Hockey on a year to year basis, As a second Zamboni it has served us well, however this Zamboni is in need of its own repairs which would amount to thousands of dollars. Becker Big Lake Youth Hockey is not interested in a long-term agreement because they are interested in building a rink of their own. The need for a reliable machine can not be emphasized enough, the Arena's whole operations revolves around keeping the ice schedule on time. I feel that the existing machine can no longer be relied on as that machine and that is why I have a new Ice resurfacer as the Arena's number one capital improvement. '.