Farmington’s arena just skating by

Marlin Levison, Star Tribune

The Schmitz-Maki Arena in Farmington, an essential building for youth hockey programs, is in need of repairs. The arena is 33 years old.

Farmington's ice rink is deteriorating and needs costly repairs.

By KATIE HUMPHREY, Star Tribune

Last update: November 3, 2009 - 5:13 PM

The ice at Farmington's Schmitz-Maki Arena may look fine.

Hundreds of kids glide across its surface each week, chasing pucks or perfecting their figure skating.

What lies beneath the sheet of ice is not so smooth.

The floor and cooling system of the 33-year-old city-owned arena are deteriorating, springing leaks and putting the ice and future hockey seasons in jeopardy. Just this fall, the city spent $30,000 to make emergency repairs to leaky floor pipes, which carry coolant to chill the concrete.

"I have my fingers crossed that we'll make it through this year," Mayor Todd Larson said. "Everyone keeps telling us we will. But the urgency is there."

The urgency, coupled with the appearance of about two dozen Farmington Youth Hockey Association members at a city budget workshop, has prompted the City Council to find a way to replace the arena floor and cooling system by next fall.

The project won't be cheap -- initial estimates range from $1 million to $1.2 million -- and the city is already facing a tight budget year. The council hasn't yet approved a budget for 2010, but members spent hours at the workshop discussing ways to lessen the proposed $9.7 million levy.

Jeremy Pire, the city's facilities maintenance supervisor, said the most needed upgrades are the replacement of the original floor and the piping that runs through it, a new cooling system and compressor, and an updated dehumidification system. Some of the boards around the rink could be replaced, too, he said.

Previous fixes to the floor have basically been temporary, he said, noting that: "As old as the floor is, at any time we could have another leak."

The city has known for years that arena repairs were looming, but no money had been set aside for the fixes. And now, Larson admits, "It couldn't come at a worse time."

The city will be asking the arena's two main users, the Farmington School District and the Youth Hockey Association, to pitch in on the repairs.

Council Member Christy Jo Fogarty said the city would likely look to revenue bonds to finance the repairs, but also hopes to use as much volunteer labor as possible to offset the cost.

Appealing to volunteers has worked for the city in the past. During recent renovations of the old City Hall, now the Rambling River Center, volunteers put in thousands of hours and pledged to raise $90,000 to save the city money.

Fogarty, who has two children who play hockey, said members of the Farmington Youth Hockey Association could offer a number of in-kind donations through volunteer labor.

"Clearly, the installation of the flooring is very specialized," she said. "But things like demolition, it doesn't take a lot of qualification, maybe some good supervision."

Matt Words, president of the Youth Hockey Association, said parents and hockey players would pitch in as much as possible, especially with in-kind donations.

The association counts more than 400 hockey players in kindergarten through 10th grade and purchases about 1,000 hours of ice time at the arena annually for practices and games.

It also buys about 400-500 hours of ice time at a variety of other arenas to meet the demands of the association's 20 to 25 teams, Words said.

Before the floor fiasco surfaced, the association was hoping the city would consider a second sheet of ice at Schmitz-Maki Arena. Even if those dreams are on the back burner now, Words said, at least one sheet of local ice is a necessity.

"If the ice is not there, we'd be done," Words said. "There's definitely some [other] things that could be improved at the arena, but the floor is obviously job one."

Katie Humphrey • 952-882-9056

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