DCR to Canton: On your own with skating rink

After more than two years of waiting, Canton selectmen finally got an answer from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) concerning the fate of a new regional public ice rink and there are mixed results.

More than 2 years have passed since the roof collapsed at Metropolis Skating Rink. (Moira Sweetland photo)

The good news is that the rink will be located in Canton and not Norwood — either in the form of a rebuilt or new facility at the existing site on Route 138 or a new rink just up the road on the state-owned Indian Line Farm site.

The bad news is that the state will not provide any further financial aid other than land if the Indian Line Farm site is selected.

“They gave us the go-ahead but won’t give us any money,” said Selectmen Chairman John Connolly.

The town will use the $3.2 million in insurance proceeds it received for damages incurred as a result of the roof collapse at the Metropolis Skating Rink and potentially another $1 million in future insurance proceeds. But Connolly said most of the money from the insurance proceeds must be used for repair or construction by February 2019.

With the announcement Tuesday night, selectmen authorized a Request for Proposals (RFP) to hire a company for architectural design services to develop project costs for a rebuild of the existing rink facility or a new site at Indian Line Farm. Connolly said he would like to have the costs for both sites outlined to the board by this fall.

“This is bittersweet for us,” said Connolly. “We kept waiting and waiting and wanted the site here in Canton, but now the DCR says, ‘You are on your own financially.’ They will support us and give us the land if we choose the Indian Line Farm site. But they basically said we are in the driver’s seat.”

Connolly and Town Administrator Charlie Aspinwall learned of the DCR’s decision at a meeting last week with DCR Commissioner Leo Roy. Roy had attended a public meeting in Canton in mid February and outlined four sites then under review: three in Canton, including the former airport site on Neponset Street, and one in South Norwood.

The DCR meeting in February came nearly two years after the catastrophic roof collapse at Canton’s beloved Metropolis Rink. Roy told attendees at the February meeting that the new rink would be up to state codes, ADA compliant, and would accommodate hockey and …

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jun 30 2017. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.