tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622269861971993419.post2633492020455197406..comments2024-03-05T21:54:06.264-08:00Comments on Observations about Longmont, Colorado: Longmont Ice Pavillion is back!Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09025866891565696396noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622269861971993419.post-29301303425387874642008-12-01T07:29:00.000-08:002008-12-01T07:29:00.000-08:00I skated at the rink last week and was impressed b...I skated at the rink last week and was impressed by the quality of the facility. Everything appeared well maintained and the employees were very pleasant to deal with. The ice rink is a community asset that benefits residents and local businesses. Perhaps all of the benefits aren’t direct; meaning revenue to the rink, but there’s no doubt that keeping people close to Town, as opposed to driving to other rinks, benefits the local economy and fosters a sense of community.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622269861971993419.post-24233280632102095352007-12-01T13:16:00.000-08:002007-12-01T13:16:00.000-08:00The short answer is no. None of the city's recreat...The short answer is no. None of the city's recreation divisions are completely self sufficient. The Memorial Bldg. which is responsible for putting on and maintaining the rink is already short staffed and now cannot hire the personnel they needed even before the council decided to put more work on them. As for the Rec. Center it hasn't made money since it first opened and Centennial has to bring private business in to get their revenue up. All of Rec Services receive monies from city sales tax revenue therefore, if the city is doing well in that area Rec Services will also.getinlosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11240515454256225290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622269861971993419.post-538260984921329562007-11-30T17:19:00.000-08:002007-11-30T17:19:00.000-08:00Although they may seem to be linked because they w...Although they may seem to be linked because they were discussed the same evening, the ice rink decision was independent of the hiring freeze. The HF was voted in, in response to the City's decision to layoff some workers a few months ago. In particular, Councilwoman Benker is against RIFs in general, based on her State of Colorado experience, when she always did hiring freezes when budget problems appeared, not layoffs.<BR/><BR/>If I could summarize the ice rink approach I believe being taken: given that the city did not give the citizens enough time to react to the rink closing so that some community efforts could have been started to raise the needed cash to maintain and run the equipment, allocate $19K to kickstart the rink this year, and let's see how the community/private-enterprise sponsoring/foundation ideas take hold.<BR/><BR/>Do you know if the Longmont Rec Center recoups it's capital and operating expense costs? I was wondering about that.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09025866891565696396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5622269861971993419.post-89271481681489748192007-11-30T08:12:00.000-08:002007-11-30T08:12:00.000-08:00Unfortunately, it likely will come at a cost to ot...Unfortunately, it likely will come at a cost to other facilities. The councils decision to impose a hiring freeze to fund the rink puts many established programs at risk, and the money spent to open and maintain the rink will probably not be recouped by attendance.getinlosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11240515454256225290noreply@blogger.com