Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Plan for Hailey ice rink gains traction


By JODY ZARKOS
Express Staff Writer

Graphic courtesy Becki Keefer A proposed outdoor ice rink near Hailey would be located at Lion?s Park, at the mouth of Croy Canyon.

Supporters of a proposed public outdoor ice rink to be constructed immediately west of Hailey will have to wait a little longer to see if their dream will come to fruition or be put on deep freeze.

A group called Hailey Ice, in partnership with the city of Hailey, presented its case for a local place to skate in front of Blaine County Hearing Examiner Christopher Simms Thursday, June 6, at the Blaine County Annex in Hailey. The meeting was a continuation of an earlier public hearing held on Nov. 16, 2006. The latest installment attracted an audience of 36 people, most of whom seemed to be there to support the project.

But after a two-hour hearing, Simms sent supporters back to the drawing board to come up with finalized details for the proposed rink.

"There is not enough information for me to issue a permit, but I am pretty sure we can get there," Simms said. "I think there is going to be a conditional-use permit issued."

The hearing examiner, an independent contractor authorized by the Blaine County Commission, reviews conditional-use permits, while projects such as subdivisions and rezones go before the county Planning and Zoning Commission.

Hailey Ice and the city of Hailey are seeking a conditional-use permit to build a rink at Lion's Park, just west of Hailey on Croy Creek Road. The 10.26-acre parcel is zoned R-5 (Residential/Agricultural).

The application includes proposed construction of a refrigerated concrete slab measuring 125 by 230 feet with removable boards 42 to 44 inches high topped by 60-inch sheets of Plexiglas, three storage sheds and associated parking. The rink would be used only in the winter, November to April.

There are no plans to enclose the rink, due to zoning restrictions. Instead, horizontal screening would be used to keep the sun from melting the ice.

Used as a dump for three decades dating back to the 1940s, Lion's Park became its present incarnation when Hailey resident Gale Roberts constructed a baseball diamond there in 1983. The city also uses the site for snow storage in the winter—something neighboring homeowners seemed like they would be glad to be rid of with its late-night noise.

In her opening statements representing Hailey Ice, Becki Keefer, a parks project coordinator for the city of Hailey, said the proposed location is ideal for many reasons.

"It's shaded by Della Mountain in the winter, which will allow for better ice and improve the availability of ice," Keefer said.

The proposed rink is not meant to take the place of Hailey's only winter skating arena at Roberta McKercher Park, but general consensus was that ice at Lion's Park would offer a more reliable sheet. The McKercher ice was basically slush after warm weather melted it in February of this year, supporter Jim Laski said.

One of the chief concerns following the November meeting was that the former dump could contain hazardous environmental pollutants not properly disposed of, which could be dug up with new construction.

Citing a report by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Keefer said there are no apparent surface or groundwater problems at the site.

"It is our belief that the site proposed is clean and will not present hazards," she said. "The core samples were relatively clean."

In summing up, Simms gave organizers a punch list to refine before the next meeting on Thursday, July 12. He asked for additional details on financial aspects such as fund raising, as well as the project's operating budget, overhead and construction costs, landscaping, material samples, sound, lighting, bathroom facilities and a construction timetable.

"They are all reasonable concerns and doable," Hailey Ice board member Bege Reynolds said. "We feel very positive."

Attorney Evan Robertson, representing Bullion Partners, developer of Northridge and owner of the vacant land directly east of Lion's Park, said that his client's concerns "may go away as it (the project) takes more shape and detail."

"Substantially, more detail than shown here," Robertson added.

When asked how long it would take to render a final decision, Simms replied, "I will issue a written opinion within 14 days and try to get it to you right away. We want to make sure to dot the I's and cross the T's. I am not going to let this be rushed. We want to be good neighbors."

One Hailey resident, John Stokes, seemed to echo the sentiments of many.

"I think, given the condition of what is down there now, (an ice rink) is a tremendous improvement. Going ahead is all positive and better for everyone."




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