Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Michelle Rigoni-Sivula, manager of the Pat O'Donnell Civic Center, uses a floor cleaner to prepare the rink surface on Tuesday in preparation for an open house from noon to 7 p.m. today. Visitors can tour the facility and are welcome to bring roller skates and protective gear to skate on the rink surface.
By TOM LAVENTURE
Ironwood - The community is invited to get a glimpse of the newly rebuilt Pat O'Donnell Civic Center from noon to 7 p.m. today.
There are still some minor items to complete before the facility can be used for ice skating this fall, but it's ready for a tour, and people are invited to bring their roller blades or standard roller skates to try out the rink floor, according to Michelle Rigoni-Sivula, civic center manager. Skaters will need to bring their own skates, helmets, knee and elbow pads, as the civic center does not rent those items.
The civic center is taking a two-phased approach to opening, she said. The soft opening Wednesday will allow for the community to get a look at the new facility, followed by a full opening with a ribbon cutting and dedication to follow at a date yet to be set.
The civic center board will meet on Aug. 10 to discuss the details for the grand opening and set a date, according to Rigoni-Sivula.
The final work with the installation of the dasher boards was completed on Monday evening by Rink Systems Inc., according to Rigoni-Sivula on Tuesday.
The civic center's gravel parking lot is also going to be paved, according to city manager Scott Erickson, prior to the Monday meeting of the civic center board. The civic center parking lot will be paved using milling materials removed from city roads over the next month to improve the parking surface.
Angelo Luppino Inc. is currently completing a concrete, curb and gutter replacement on McLeod Avenue, to be followed by a similar project on Ayer Street, he said. The contractor will conduct a mill and overlay of each section of road, along with some patch work around the city over the next few weeks.
"We're actually rolling the bids back, so that the contractor will bring the milling (road surface removed) over here," Erickson said. "So, once they build those roads they can bring some of the millings over and will basically lay some of that in the parking lot to clean it up."
In the board president's report, Jerry Gullan said that, if applied correctly, properly watered and graded, the parking lot of millings should be adequate with a four-inch depth.
Gogebic Community College has agreed to have a contractor work on a power box that is located between the civic center and the school's soccer field, he said. The purpose of the power box, and whether it needs to be repositioned, is unclear, according to an April board meeting report.
Once GCC bills the civic center, the city will submit the billing to the insurance, Gullan said.
The board directed Rigoni-Sivula to solicit an updated bid to paint the rink floor. The bid will include a hard cleaning prior to painting. A timely response is a priority to ensure the work does not delay the start of the fall ice skating season, Gullan said.
"The floor is still a huge roadblock," he said.
Concern over sealed foundation blocks was slightly alleviated with the lack of leaks following the recent heavy rain storm a week ago, he said.
"There were no issues with the rain," Gullan said. "What they sealed worked."
The recommendation to have the subcontractor who performed the initial work continue sealing the rest of the blocks was delayed. An "independent forensic block engineer" will conduct testing to determine any other possible issues.
"The forensic engineer was hired by the insurance," Gullan said.
In the manager's report, Rigoni-Sivula said that more of the items for the concessions area have arrived. Some items include a microwave, popcorn machine, pizza oven and warmer and a menu board. Other items for the players area include a large digital clock and hockey stick containers.
The digital jukebox has also arrived and is installed. There is some work yet to complete the installation of sound system speakers.
"There are little odds and ends that need to be finished," Rigoni-Sivula said.
In other business, the board approved a $1 wage increase for the part-time civic center maintenance worker.
The next regular meeting of the civic center board is 5 p.m., Monday Sept. 6 at the civic center.
