Commissioners agree to address Mt. Lebanon Ice Center issues

When Mt. Lebanon recreation director David Donnellan approached the municipal commission in April about conditions at Mt. Lebanon Ice Center, he was not optimistic that simply making repairs would suffice.
After more research, consulting and conducting a pressure test under the surfaces of the center’s two ice rinks, Donnellan and municipal engineer Dan Deiseroth of Gateway Engineers told commissioners that replacing both floors is the best course of action.
Four decades after it opened, the center continues to experience the effects of a permafrost issue that causes the floors to buckle. It is an issue that was magnified for Deiseroth after conducting the pressure test in which something “majorly wrong” was found with the frozen ground underneath the studio ice, he told commissioners during their July 25 discussion meeting.
”When we did this research, talked to our consultants and surveyed other facilities, we came up with a normal life expectancy of 30 years,” said Donnellan. “There is no estimate on how long the repairs would last. In my mind, it’s a risky undertaking to do the repairs for something that’s already past its life expectancy.”
Despite not having the ability to vote July 25, commissioners unanimously agreed that spending $2.7 million – Donnellan presented that amount as the worst-case scenario – would be well worth the extra money.
“I think we’re on borrowed time with reflooring this,” said Commissioner Steve Silverman.
Commissioners gave the consensus that it would be best to expedite the process so that they can take a vote in an upcoming meeting, with the hope for the project to fall within the window of March through August, when the ice center traditionally receives the least amount of revenue.
The six-month time frame would not only limit the loss of revenue, it would retain goodwill associated with the programs that need the facility following Labor Day.
Questions were posed about what the effects would be if all the work focused just the ice center’s main rink.
The smaller studio rink, though, also hosts a multitude of programs, including learn-to-skate and learn-to-play hockey sessions, that account for roughly 30 percent of the facility’s income. The ice center grossed $289K last year.
“We have a short window to work in here, and it’s important to get this thing to bid quickly,” said Deiseroth. “I think we have a window. The unknown is scary, and we do have a lot of unknowns on this project. Any time you are in a position when an emergency can happen, it is prudent to do it all at one time.”