SMITHFIELD – The Smithfield Municipal Ice Rink remains a popular place for athletic and recreational skating by members of the community, and officials say it will continue to be so.
Town Manager Bob Seltzer said the Town Council will consider a proposal on June 16 to authorize him to enter a master price agreement contract with Aharonian & Associates for architectural schematic and construction documents for the ice rink at 109 Pleasant View Ave.
The price for the design work, according to Seltzer, won’t exceed $32,250.
Seltzer explained to The Local Insider that the hot water system on the 1973 building is original and it hasn’t been functioning properly. The water is not hot once it gets to the end of the line, he said. Because there are no mixing valves in the shower rooms to blend hot water from the heater with cold water to maintain consistent temperature, he said, the system relies on the water being the right temperature from the source. If they turn up the heat on the other end it can burn people as they shower, he said.
Aharonian & Associates will make sure plans are up to snuff, said Seltzer.
He said the ice rink continues to turn a profit each year. A number of major upgrades have been completed over the years using those funds.
“The issue with the building is its age,” Seltzer said. “It was built in the 1970s and now stuff is getting older and older.”
The town has been fortunate with the equipment needed to generate ice, he said, but that too will need to be replaced in the future. It’s been confirmed to him that there’s some life still left in it, he said, but that will be a big cost down the road. He said he doesn’t want to see a situation similar to what happened in Cranston where the system to make the ice failed.
The ice rink operates on an enterprise fund and funds itself, said Seltzer, meaning no town funds go into it.
