CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — If all goes according to plan, the Community Center’s north ice rink will have all-new flooring when the venue reopens around August.
While the rink remains shut down in early summer for annual preventive maintenance, the city hopes to squeeze the $361,000 replacement project in next month, Parks and Recreation Director Andres Gonzalez told council June 16.
Should the work stretch into August, crews with All-American Arena Products of Albert Lea, Minn., will complete it during off-hours when the rink is not open, Gonzalez added.
When the $1.7 million north rink rebuild took place with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds in 2023, it included flooring in and around the bleachers.
“What it did not include is the main hallway outside of the rink, behind the desk and all (eight) locker rooms,” Gonzalez added in his memo.
“The project will address this so we will have all-new
flooring throughout the entire north rink that will completely match.”
The nearly 14,000 square feet of new rubber flooring is also considered ideal for ice blades, based on industry standards.
Chilling effect
Back at the preventive maintenance, council also approved a five-year contract totaling $168,000 (about $33,500 a year) with Tempest Inc. of Cleveland.
Since 2011, Tempest has serviced the ice rink compressors, dehumidifier and refrigeration systems. Gonzalez noted that entering into a five-year contract guarantees that the cost will not rise annually.
Councilman Craig Cobb asked why the contract is considered retroactive and whether city staff does any maintenance in-house.
Gonzalez noted that the city’s Zamboni drivers are also responsible for maintaining the rink’s chillers.
Noble marketing study
In direct ARPA-related funding, council approved a $42,640 consulting services contract with Think Place Agency LLC for a Noble Corridor Market Assessment.
The work will include a commercial real estate market analysis, opportunity sites map, and summaries such as a Market Opportunity Report.
These components will also tie into the city’s Noble Road Corridor Neighborhood planning effort, Community Development Assistant Director Brian Iorio told council.
The measure passed 6-1 with Cobb casting the dissenting vote, contending that the city would be better served finding a consultant closer to home than New York City, where Think Place is based.
During the public comment portion of the council meeting, Noble resident Barb Sosnowski questioned the need for another study that results in little action, likening it to a “hamster wheel” that leads to little progress.
Sosnowski suggested using the money for safety cameras, facades and lighting in the Noble business districts, as well as city staff’s assistance with entrepreneur infrastructure, training and launching new businesses.
As for more facade work, the city will be reallocating $300,000 from its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program’s commercial revolving loan fund and unspent Bhutanese community allocations into storefront renovations, Iorio told council earlier.
The city’s $2.1 million CDBG program for 2025 will be part of a future story.
ARPA exterior repairs
Council also approved separate $250,000 contracts paid with allocated ARPA funds to Romanin Concrete and A & J Contractors.
The $500,000 will allow the city’s “Exterior Repair of Residential Properties and Concrete Driveways, Aprons, Sidewalks & Pathways” to begin as early as July.
The ARPA funds must then be spent in full by the end of 2026.
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