There are precious few indoor recreational facilities in Somerville. So I've always loved to see Founders Memorial Skating Rink used for other purposes in the warmer months when the ice sheet is melted. I was excited to see our Parks and Recreation Department ramp up programming at Founders last year, but then dismayed when the City neglected to put down an ice sheet there this winter. My dismay turned to disbelief when the Finance Committee heard last week that a $160,000 appropriation requested by the Mayor would be used for a multi-purpose wooden floor that wasn't intended to be put down and taken back up seasonally. In other words, the plan was for Founders to sit dark and unused four months out of the year going forward.

In that March 25 meeting I voiced skepticism about the plan to only use Founders in the warmer months and inquired about flooring options that would allow us to make year-round use of an unheated, uninsulated building that really only can be used for ice sports in the winter. I was unconvinced that the City had done its due diligence in exploring modular, portable flooring options, so I voted against the appropriation. But we lost a 3-2 vote and the item was recommended for approval.

When the committee report came before the full council on Thursday, I moved to sever the Founders appropriation item, and made my case to my colleagues for sending it back to Finance for additional discussion. I continue to believe that a good, win-win resolution is out there that would allow us to use this facility every month of the year. I acknowledge a creative solution here will take additional work to put together and to implement -- and eventually maintain. But it just feels like we were throwing in the towel too easily on year-round use of Founders.

We have Veterans Memorial Rink next door, but ice time there is very tough to come by from Thanksgiving to mid-March because of Somerville High School's hockey team needing it for practices and games. Somerville Youth Hockey Association had ambitious plans to grow their program through a Learn to Skate program and was looking to form a girls hockey program. But both of those plans had to be shelved when the City refused to put down an ice sheet at Founders this winter. As a result, families -- especially families of girls players -- have been forced to drive sometimes far outside the city to play hockey. And we haven't even mentioned other ice activities like skating, figure skating, and curling that continue to need more ice time.

I spoke with Department of Public Works Commissioner Jill Lathan and asked her to present to the Finance Committee what a solution would look like for a multi-use wood floor that could be put down in March and taken up in November in order to accommodate an ice sheet in the winter months. I requested financial considerations, given the additional labor costs and the revenues the City would realize from allowing a third-party vendor to operate the rink once again in the winter. I also asked to hear about the logistical challenge of storing the flooring over the winter. And finally I asked about the true programmatic impact on Parks and Recreation from not having Founders in the month of November as they did this year -- particularly the registration numbers and participation rates of their program offerings at Founders after November 1 when the rink becomes extremely cold.

I'm looking forward to that next Finance Committee meeting on April 8, when we can get some solid information about alternatives to the initial plan presented to the council. I'm very optimistic we can find a way to do both ice and non-ice uses of Founders, so we're not stuck choosing between them and can make the most of the facility.