Civic Center planning furniture and flooring

By TOM LAVENTURE

[email protected]

Ironwood — Flooring for the player benches, penalty box and ice level media area was the main topic at the Pat O’Donnell Civic Center Board meeting on Monday.

The board unanimously approved the civic center staff to explore options to add the floor work to the contract with Rink Systems Inc., the company installing the dasher boards and plexiglass, with the option to seek a third party company, or to purchase materials and have volunteers do the work if possible.

The flooring issue came as a surprise when it was discovered that the flooring, which was included in the new dasher board proposal from Rink Systems, was not included in the refurbished dasher board option that the board approved in August. The matter came to light as the dasher board installation neared completion.

Jim Collins, board chair, said Rink Systems is installing the player bench area and penalty boxes but the flooring was not included, apparently, in the contract. The flooring will require a framed base, treated plywood and rubberized matting and is not included in the insurance as the new dasher boards was an option of the civic center outside the scope of the building replacement, he said.

It might be possible to use the rubber matting from the previous arena, he said. Wood prices are high but could be offset by using volunteer labor for the installation, he said.

There will be a similar issue with protective netting once all of the lighting and ductwork is completed, he said. At that time the protective netting must be installed to protect spectators and equipment from hockey pucks must be done professionally, he said. 

The board then reviewed proposed tables, chairs and benches for the lobby, concession area and observation areas that were compiled by board member Mae Moderson. Each area would have a combination of raised tables, low tables and benches. 

The board reviewed but did not take action on the items. 

Jim Mildren, a city commission member and civic center board member, recommended that staff take advantage of upcoming meetings with most facility engineers, contractors and subcontractors present to start the process of creating a building maintenance plan. The construction of the building involves several separate projects and the scheduling of regular maintenance may be impacted by overlapping factors that these professionals could point out now, he said.

The next civic center board meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Monday, March 1, either at the Memorial building or at the civic center if it is ready.