From left, Sean Auclair, Tom Proulx, Donna Kissane, Nedd Sparks, Rick Reandeau, Ed Lockwood, Jaycee Welsh, Kris Brunette, Brian Monette, Nancy Monette, Bruce Monette, Nate Monette, Melinda Ellis, Andrea Dumas, Phil Hans and Jessica Rivers smile in front of the Tupper Lake Memorial Civic Center on Monday. District officials provided a tour of the civic center to the donors — who had pledged a combined $200,000 — to temporarily repair and eventually replace an old chilling vessel, which would restore ice to the building’s indoor rink.
(Provided photo — Tupper Lake Central School District)
TUPPER LAKE — The Tupper Lake Central School District announced on Monday the three organizations that provided significant donations to restore ice at the Tupper Lake Memorial Civic Center.
Those organizations include Kampgrounds of America: Tupper Lake, Franklin County Office of Economic Development and Tourism and Adirondack for Kids, according to TLCSD Superintendent Jaycee Welsh.
The civic center, which houses an indoor ice skating rink, and is owned and operated by the TLCSD, has been without ice this season, following the discovery of a broken chilling vessel on Oct. 17. The donations total $200,000.
“Progress with the chilling vessel wouldn’t be possible without these incredible organizations and significant contributions,” a TLCSD release stated.
The KOA pledged toward the temporary repairs, which are being performed by Mollenberg-Betz. The donations from the Franklin County Government Office of Economic Development and Tourism are expected to be put toward a new brine-chilling vessel. The Adirondack for Kids donation is “to support the hockey arena,” and can be used for the repair costs and/or the new unit costs, according to Welsh.
Last week, Welsh said the district did not have money available in its budget for the repairs — which were discovered months into the fiscal year — but with the donations, the district can now move forward with fixing the civic center.
Welsh wrote in an email on Tuesday that the specific commitments from each group will be released after the Board of Education formally votes on accepting the donations. She added that the vote would take place at the board’s next regular meeting, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2 at the L. P. Quinn Elementary School’s library.
“We are proud to support this project, which will not only enhance the functionality of the area but also strengthen Tupper Lake’s position as a regional destination for sports and recreation,” Ed Lockwood wrote in his donation letter, according to the release. Lockwood serves as the county chairman of the Office of Economic Development and Tourism.
“We look forward to seeing the positive impact this investment will have on our community and our youth,” he added.
“(We are) proud to support the hockey arena at Tupper Lake Central School,” Nancy Monette wrote in her commitment letter. Monette, whose family owns several businesses throughout the North Country, oversees the Adirondack for Kids Fund.
Franklin County Government officials and Adirondack for Kids representatives met with TLCSD staff and were given a tour of the civic center on Monday.
The civic center has been without ice this season due to the broken chilling vessel. It was discovered to have cracks in its tubing when district staff were getting ready to start making ice for the season, according to Welsh.
She said, at the time, that this problem was caught before the unit was turned on for the season to begin making ice. Had it been activated, Welsh said it would have likely caused significant collateral damage to other pieces of equipment required for ice production.
The repairs process began Tuesday after the company experienced an initial delay in obtaining its materials. It is too early for the district to have a tentative timeline. Welsh said on Tuesday that the TLCSD intends to begin ice production immediately after the chilling vessel is repaired and proves to not cause any harmful leaks.
In the meantime, the TLCSD made a contingency schedule for its varsity hockey team through Jan. 1. Games scheduled at the civic center have been moved to away venues, and the team travels to either the Saranac Lake Civic Center or the Olympic Center in Lake Placid for practices, which amount to 1 hour and 15 minutes of ice time per scheduled game.
Welsh said the district will adjust the team’s schedule if the ice at the Tupper Lake Memorial Civic Center is ready this year.
The ice production process — after the repairs are eventually complete — is expected to take seven to 10 days. Welsh said the TLCSD will begin making ice as soon as they receive the green light from the repair company.
