Whether or not Sylvania Tam-O-Shanter Sports will take over Ottawa Park Ice Rink operations remains up in the air following a committee hearing Monday afternoon.
Toledo City Council’s Education, Recreation, and Employment Committee heard a presentation on the proposal that would allow Tam-O-Shanter Sports to operate the Toledo-owned ice rink under a 30-year lease agreement, which would be broken down to five-year increments at a cost of $5 annually.
Both parties would agree to a profit sharing agreement in which Toledo would split evenly any earned profit, with Tam-O-Shanter reinvesting its share into capital improvements, said Joe Fausnaugh, director of parks, recreation, and youth services.
“The end result in this is that we are proposing a lease that’s good for the city and good for the community,” Mr. Fausnaugh said.
The rink is scheduled to open Dec. 11 and he is hopeful that a contract will be in place by then. Council could decide the issue at its Dec. 6 meeting, but it depends on whether or not the questions and concerns raised by council are adequately answered, said committee chair Vanice Williams.
Council and committee member Theresa Morris would like assurances that prices would remain “reasonable” for families to use the facility, and council and committee vice-chair Cerssandra McPherson does not favor a Sylvania business operating a Toledo facility.
“It’s a concern for me,” she said. “I have no problem with working with other companies, but what I don’t want to see is our rink becoming more privatized than public usage. What I don’t want is Sylvania coming in and taking control of our rink.”
Ms. McPherson also expressed concern that council has not had enough time to consider the proposal.
If it is approved, Tam-O-Shanter officials say that programming could nearly double throughout the week in the winter season with the addition of travel hockey, figure skating, broomball, and more. Other youth events, including the Toledo Ice Crew, would provide free programming to the underserved community, and new summer programming would also be offered. In addition, public skating and other programs that are currently in place would continue at the rink, said Mike Mankowski, hockey director at Tam-O-Shanter.
“We understand that is the core of what an ice rink is,” he said. “We want to continue to build on what’s already there.”
It cost the city of Toledo $59,732 to operate the ice rink in 2021 and $70,821 in 2022, although Mr. Fausnaugh believes that with the Tam-O-Shanter lease agreement, the city could break even the first year and potentially earn a profit of approximately $10,000 after five years.
“I think I just have to convince council that some of the uncertainty they are feeling is covered in the agreement,” he said after the meeting.
Officials from other organizations spoke in favor of the proposal, including the Lucas County Metropolitan Housing Authority and the Greater Toledo Inline Hockey League.
First Published November 28, 2022, 11:24 p.m.
