Great news for skating and ice hockey enthusiasts. The Clary Anderson Arena on Chestnut Avenue in Montclair is set to stay open after its private operator, the United Skates of America, learned this week it had won a five-year contract for the township-owned ice rink. See NJ.com’s story here.
A council vote on the matter had been delayed by worries about the rink, which had lost $200,000 under township management last year.
First Ward councilman Rich Murnick was worried that the rink would close if the council waited any longer.
“I just think that this council sometimes has trouble coming to a conclusion and making up their minds on things,” he said. The operation of the arena is “really not on our books anymore, which helps everyone out on the budget process. This is really a win-win and we’re capable of keeping a precious gem open.”
Tell us what you think in our poll below.
Good news for taxpayers. Bad news for the hockey players and parents who wanted the town to continue subsidizing their gold-plated rink service.
No one takes in consideration the fact that the Town owns the property. WHY? Sell the building and collect revenues. This is a step in the right direction. Next should be the Garbage and Recycling pick up. Lets call Waste Management and dump these wasteful Public Work employee salaries and Pensions.
We need more privatizing so those who use these services pay not as a shared community cost. I will most likely never use that arena, nor should I pay for it. It is a luxury, like the pools which should be deficit neutral. Its pension and salaries of unnecessary Public employees that are dragging this town down. Time for Change.
Kyle
I am tired of paying taxes to subsidize the extracurricular activities of other people’s children. If you want your kids to play hockey, or figure skate or speed skate or whatever, pay a fee to use the ice.
We got hockey, football, lacrosse, soccer….pretty soon the town will add dance sport and synchronized swimming.
It is getting pricy to cater to the precious few on whatever the issue of the day is, be it full time kindergarten, ice time, or Foley field’s 1970′s concrete steps. The big lesson we can learn from the current economy is personal responsibility. If you, or your child, want something, it becomes your responsibility to pay for it, so maybe some kids will have to choose between a cell phone or a sports team to fit their wants into their families budget. I know parents who’ve had their kids already make that type of choice and not one of those kids can be called neglected.
I realize these polls are not exactly scientific to begin with, but even so, you really shouldn’t be able to select multiple answers for questions 1 and 2…
Once again the council has succeeded in disappointing the taxpayers of this town. How can we award a 5 year contract (in the Star Ledger today) to a company using our facility, getting paid by us, and have not seen one official statement (audit) of what this has cost us?? UNBELIEVABLE!!
The Township is quick to say that it cost the community over $200,000 in the past BUT does not have the figures for this year?? I think there is a bridge that may be for sale too.
Kudos to the two women on our council who are surely wearing the pants these days. They could not vote for something without seeing the evidence of what it would cost.
Gentlemen, maybe it would be wise to take the lead from the ladies and think with your heads from now on. Transparency?? I don’t think so.
A big thank you for once again wasting my tax dollars and making someone else’s pocket bigger. United Skates is laughing all the way to the bank. Maybe the Mayor and the rest of the boys can give them a ride on their bikes.
“Gentlemen, maybe it would be wise to take the lead from the ladies and think with your heads from now on.”
It seems to me these ladies just vote no for everything no matter what. I looked at their voting record in the last issues of the MT and they voted no on everything.
Sell or lease the arena with a stipulation that the HS gets discounted or free use and let everyone else pay their own way.
You can forget about the high school skating for free….big changes are coming for your private ice arena. Fees will be at least 10% higher this year and the high school will start paying. Oh….don’t forget that Joey H is going to the Town Council and ask for some big time capital funds to fix up the arena for fatso slob-boy. This is the Montclair version of corporate welfare. We still have not seen the numbers from last year based upon United Skates making over $450,000 and kicking back to the town. They didn’t even come close to that number I will assume. If they did, Fatso Phil would have been crowing about it with Joey H at 205 during the meetings…..we didn’t see any representatives from United Skates at any meetings. I think Anne Milgram(A.G. New Jersey)should be contacted because something smells rotten in Denmark…..and Murnick is just plain wrong. I want to see if good ‘ol Rich would feel the same way if the baseball fields were privatized and his kids had to pay $1200 for Rec League. And the town still picks-up the garbage and takes care of the insurance on the building….so it isn’t a win-win.
While we’re at it, we should sell all the sports fields to developers, who can charge the high school, middle schools and sports clubs what the market can bear for use of the fields, or build coops.
who cares? Sell/lease the damn arena and the dufus little library which is just an after school babysitter, sell the wildwood dump property and use the proceeds to retire/prevent the town debt. Perhaps and even better use would be to go back to court and release the town from the obsolete decades old decision that is used to justify the pretense of desegragation magnet fantasy. Or use it to challenge the many out of town expensive tuition special ed bogus placements decreasing the mecca-like attraction to the NYC special ed population.
Dear Joey,
Wow! You have a lot of power statements there! I’d like to make a couple of suggestions:
1. If you truly believe (and it sounds like you do) that illegal activities have taken place you should do something! I can give you a contact at the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Make an appointment. Take your data or other proof and sit down with them. I can assure you it will be thoroughly investigated!
2. Pick a time and place and meet me. Show me the specific information you have. It sounds like you are/were “connected” with the Arena and have good information. But you have to give me something to work with! You can’t remain “anonymous” and you must be specific.
3. Cut out the libelous language regarding management of the Arena. It doesn’t help you make your case, and it might make people ignore your points.
Thanks!
Cary Africk
2nd Ward Councilor
I believe that the reason most people voted for this council was their promise of “transparency”. I am not a user of the Arena nor do I know much about the daily usage. But, it pains me to realize that our council voted with a great majority to enter into a contract with a company who has still failed to give us the final numbers of the cost and/or profit to the township.
How will it look (if and when the final cost is presented) that the cost to our township far exceeded their projections?? If the Arena is truly a burden to the township’s budget, would it not be wiser to sell the building? If we can’t afford to run the facility now, how can we ever afford to run it??
Instead we are playing landlord to a building that is in dire need of costly repairs, refurbishment and costly upkeep. Sounds like the only winner is truly the tenant (United Skates) who will make a profit because they are not responsible for anything but to provide ice to the public.
Cary, please do not disappoint me in the future by putting your approval vote on something which merely looks like it will cost us taxpayers nothing when in fact, it is costing us a WHOLE LOT.
Its time this council puts their personal agendas aside and come together for the good of our community. Take your own lead and stop making the town manager your puppeteer.
poppy,
You bring up many interesting questions.
First of all, Is it really the job of the town to provide a town run ice arena to its residents? Or THREE town pools? Floyd Hall is just up the road, and the Country runs a much bigger ice arena than Clary not too far away from us. So I agree with you, maybe we shouldn’t be involved at all. Maybe we should try and sell the entire enterprise, including the property, and see if there are any takers.
Or, on the other hand, is this an amenity that the town should be offering? If so, does it have to make a profit? How much? Or if a loss, how much is tolerable? Is spending $100 or $200K on an ice arena really “losing” money or is it investing in recreation? Should that $100 or $200K be better spent on other recreation programs, or perhaps be used to expand pre-K services?
How should the Town use its money?
But more to the point:
We had a skating operation that gave a certain level of service, at a certain cost. It is important that we understand those costs and services.
We now have a different skating operation and we “should” be able to compare it. Yes, with all of the numbers.
Let’s compare apples to apples! I’m all for it! And please let’s realize, if we’re going to have an intelligent discussion about all of this many are going to have to come out from behind their aliases, and sit at a table to hammer out the numbers.
And finally, don’t forget that whoever “runs” the arena, capital spending must take place, and must also be a part of the calculation. The roof will leak whoever runs the operation.
Cary Africk
2nd Ward Councilor
P.S. I support this approach also for other enterprises, such as the animal shelter!
if we’re going to have an intelligent discussion about all of this many are going to have to come out from behind their aliases, and sit at a table to hammer out the numbers.
Huh? What does mean?
” Should that $100 or $200K be better spent on other recreation programs, or perhaps be used to expand pre-K services?
How should the Town use its money?”
How about not spend the savings. How about collecting that much less in tax monies.
Cary, are town employees working at the arena? You never answered that.
Wall,
That means come for a visit. We’ll sit on my porch and if you want I’ll bring the bean counter and we’ll look at numbers.
MV,
Not spending the money is a great suggestion! You know there are many organizations that receive funds from the town. Organizations that a hundred years ago got their money from private individuals spending their own money on “charity.” I still believe that the best way to show your support of an organization is to write out a check, not tell the town to write out a check.
Anyway, I’ve been told that there are no employees working at the arena. Got this from “management,” as well as a supervisor in the field.
Looks like rain. Surprise!
Cary Africk
Thanks Cary, though you know, at the council meeting, it was mentioned that employees at the arena are township employees. I’m assuming it wouldn’t/shouldn’t be that hard to determine if the town is paying the salaries of arena employees?
Who mentioned it? Perhaps we can ask them! But I’m being told “no.”
Cary: can we please put this issue out of its misery? I’m tired of hearing about the ice arena, the purported $200,000 subsidy, the # of employees, et al. Yes, it’s not a small amount. But there are more important issues – bigger fish to fry! School and educational costs are 60% of the tax bill. Stop beating up on the pools, too,and move on to meatier issues. My solution? up the arena and pool fees for users, same as any other service. I use the pools, and would gladly pay more. JUST PLEASE MOVE ON!
Cranky,
Gladly!
“Who mentioned it? Perhaps we can ask them! But I’m being told “no.”"
It was mentioned by someone on the town council at the last meeting.
But I guess my point is, shouldn’t you know if there are township employees working at the arena? If we are paying for the workers there, shouldn’t somebody, anybody, on the council actually know if it is true without having to rely on what someone in “management” tells them?
Cary,
There was a time when the arena was an outdoor skating pond. I believe in the mid 1970′s hockey parents got together to raise funds to enclose the rink. How much money was raised and did it cost the taxpayers of our town anything is something I cannot answer. Anyway, it became somewhat of a town jewel and put under the direction of our Township.
One does not have to go inside to realize that the building is in dire need of repair. In fact, it is beginning to look more like an eyesore these days than anything. Why should my tax dollars refurbish a facility that is being leased to a for-profit company so they can reap the benefits? If the majority of the users of this facility are not township residents, then my guess would be that it should be sold.
The swimming pools in town are used by residents only! No we don’t need 3 swimming pools, but do we honestly have one place to increase the size of one of the pools to accommodate all the residents of our township?? What is next?? Shall we do away with all recreational programs?? “All work and no play??”
mv,
I have two emails from the Town Manager re. this specific topic saying no township employees work at the Arena. “Off-line,” I’ve spoken to a supervisor for the town who has always given me the “straight scoop” and he says no town employees.
If you’d like, please contact the person who told you differently, and get more information.
Cary
Dear poppy,
At one time a generous benefactor was going to give a substantial amount of money to help fix up the Arena. This was in the Ed Remsen era.
The facility does need HELP.
But much of this is a matter of dollars. Whoever operates the facility, the facility still needs investment to keep it going. If a contractor has to make capital investments, its going to be part of his “deal.” And his analysis will have to include the length of the contract, whether it can be canceled and when, etc.
But it does get back to what should our town be doing? What is our role?
In today’s Wall Street Journal is an article about New Orleans and how they are outsourcing their ENTIRE MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM.
In Montclair we outsourced, on an experimental basis, maintenance of Edgemont Park. The firm is doing it for less money than we could, and resident evaluation says they are doing a great job.
The Cafeteria, in at least the High School, is run by Aramark. Everyone gives them raves for performance, cost, and flexibility.
But I would suggest, folks, that we turn our attention elsewhere.
There are much better places for us to focus our attention.
Cary Africk
2nd Ward Councilor
Cranky is right. If people want to use the arena, let them pay for it. Same with the pools. I also use my local pool and an extra $10 per summer would be far better than closing it. So yes, let’s figure out how to make sure recreation doesn’t cost the town a small fortune (and it is small) and figure out how to keep the school budget under control.