Moses Lake ice rink proposals taking shape

Facility on horizon for next winter

MOSES LAKE — The weather may not suggest it, but officials at the city of Moses Lake still have ice on the brain.

With the current Larson Recreation Center rink likely in its final year, city staff have proposed to the council a plan that would replace the facility with a year-round structure designed for both ice and in-line hockey.

"It will be an exciting project, I really think this town's ready for it," Parks and Recreation Director Spencer Grigg said.

The plan would be a change for the city, which has since the 1990s operated a smaller, open air rink. The square footage of the new facility would slightly more than double compared to the current structure, and Grigg said would potentially host youth hockey league tournaments.

The current facility utilizes chilling mats and tubes which Grigg noted are ready to be replaced. The Parks and Recreation Department essentially constructs the ice rink anew each year, a construction that has been taxing on the current equipment.

"The system that we use has been a great system," Grigg said. "It's just that it takes a good beating when you put it up and take it down every year."

Geographically, the proposed 85 by 200 foot facility makes perfect sense, Grigg said, and designing a rink up to hockey industry standards would allow for hockey tournaments and practice time for teams elsewhere in the state.

Teams from Walla Walla and the Tri-Cities have shown an interest in getting time on the ice for hockey practice in a new rink, due to time and space constraints at their own facilities. Grigg envisioned the rink as a model after the city's aquatic center, as an asset for locals to use but a tourist draw as well.

For Councilman Dick Deane, the proposal is representative of many current projects the city is taking on. Deane said the city is looking at quality construction for city facilities, including the ice rink which he said could house numerous activities in addition to the hockey and skating it would be designed for.

"The only limit is what our minds can conjure up at this time," Deane said of the uses of the facility.

The plan has not yet received final approval, and city staff will bring financing proposals to the council in the near future. The city has already budgeted $500,000 for the project, but the final cost of a new facility has been priced at between $1.1 and $1.4 million, depending on what kind of roof they construct and whether or not to use existing equipment in the project.

A canvas versus steel versus wood roof is among the questions the city council will have to answer in the coming months. Pricing sheets for the rink compare costs depending on the type of Zamboni storage building, roof and chilling equipment used in its construction.

The council must also decide whether or not to charge for using or renting the facility. Since its inception, the rink has been free to use, with charges for skate rentals.

"It's something to at least talk about," Grigg said of fees, adding that some sort of fee would go toward care of the new building.

At their annual retreat at Cave B Inn in Quincy, city council members brought up proposals for the facility, and debated whether to charge for skating or for renting out the rink for functions or practices. Councilmen seemed in agreement during retreat discussions that any facility constructed should be of a high caliber.

"I think if we do this, we've got to do it first class," Councilman Richard Pearce said.