FARMINGTON – Thanks to grant funding, the town will be getting a new ice rink at Hippach Field this winter and selectmen approved of a protective cover for the Community Center’s gym floor in time for Election Day voter traffic.
Selectmen accepted a $7,000 grant from the Healthy Community Coalition and another $1,000 grant from Walmart for the purchase of an ice rink kit that includes a heavy duty liner, boards and brackets.
In a tradition that goes back for years, the Dick Williams Memorial Skating Program rink is installed near the field house at Hippach, between its two baseball fields each winter using large wooden posts laid end to end to form a closed rectangular shape and then it’s flooded.
During unseasonably warm winters, making solid, smooth ice for skaters proved elusive.
Warm temperatures last winter, as in some previous winters, wouldn’t allow the ground to freeze well enough to hold the water. When water was added, instead of staying put and freezing rock solid, it just drained off.
Recreation Department director Matthew Foster said the Hippach Field rink has never utilized a liner before.
“Without a white liner, the sun would hit the ground and melt the ice,” he told selectmen at their meeting on Tuesday. He noted that he and and assistant director Seth Noonkester were out at the rink at 2 or 3 a.m. spraying it, trying to get the ice to form.
“We put a lot of time in,” he said. With a liner the water will be held in one place for a better chance of getting it to set up and freeze in place.
Last winter, the rink did open in time for February vacation. Foster said after consulting with those who have used the liner method he expects success is on the horizon.
“I think this will be a really great way to do it. We can be open more hours and use a lot less water,” he said.
In other action, selectmen gave Foster and Town Manager Richard Davis authorization to purchase removable carpet tiles to protect the Bjorn Gym floor.
The move comes ahead of Election Day on Nov. 8 when Town Clerk Leanne Dickey wants to open the gymnasium upstairs at the Community Center on Middle Street for voting booths due to the number required and the cramped space downstairs where polling usually takes place. Dickey said voter registration will still take place downstairs at the center and using the gym upstairs will provide for a better flow of the expected increase in voter participation this year.
While a large plastic floor covering had been used when the gym floor needed protection from traffic during various events, concerns over the fabric’s tendency to tear and wrinkle and possibly cause a voter to trip and fall, is the reason another covering is being sought, Foster said.
Three bids received ranged from $9,719 to $11,910 for floor covering carpet tiles that would be pieced together and cover the gym floor. Although the retailer of the more expensive carpet tiles hadn’t sent their sample in time for the meeting on Tuesday, selectmen decided to give Foster time to receive it, compare it with the lower price product and make a choice with Davis on which way to go. The warranty on the more expensive tiles was more than twice as long at seven years than the others at three years.
The center is rented out for weddings and other gatherings occasionally. The carpet tiles when not in use can be stored under the stage at the center, unlike the traditional rolls of protective covering material employed at school gyms. Both products come in at the same price range.
Selectmen authorized up to $12,000 to be used for the tile covering, which will come out of the town’s so called voting machine reserve account.
What does “so called” mean?
I was in the center this summer and commented that the floor was beautiful. It looks terrific!
Very much looking forward to the new rink!
Whoever does the gym floor refinishing and line painting does a great job!