Selectboard votes to use $75K in unanticipated revenue for ice rink project.

The progress of the Gilford ice rink continued with the selectboard approving a change order to allow for an increased size of the kickboard, and also approved the acceptance of nearly $75,000 in unanticipated revenue to be used for the project.

The selectboard unanimously voted in favor of the appropriation of $74,786.59 from the Concord Regional Solid Waste Resource Recovery Cooperative. These funds are the town's portion received through a land sale, and will be used for the ice rink improvements, according to Town Administrator Scott Dunn. The vote came after a public hearing was held where nobody spoke against or in favor. 

Earlier in the meeting, the board voted 3-0 to approve a change order for the hockey boards during the meeting on Wednesday night, with Chair Kevin Hayes saying it is because the kickboard height is being changed from eight inches to 10 inches. The thickness of the liner is also being expanded from six millimeters to 10 millimeters, which he said he is “ecstatic” about.

The change order amount is $1,888.70, bringing the updated cost total to $139,675.46. Hayes made clear that it was only the change order amount that was being voted on, and that the contract was already secured.

This will not affect taxpayer money in any way, as funding from the project comes in part from a Land and Water Conservation grant of $150,000. Eversource also provided $7,115 through a grant to install LED lights.

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On Oct. 22, the selectboard unanimously approved the proposal from Sport Court Northeast, a company from North Andover, Mass. with three decades of experience in this type of work all around the country.

The rink is covered with a roof, but is otherwise open, and has a brand-new concrete slab that was recently installed. In the spring there will be five pickleball courts inside the rink, making it a year-round endeavor rather than seasonal as it has previously been.

There was an item on the agenda pertaining to awarding a bid for sealing and line painting, but Hayes requested that this be put off as this is for work that needs to wait until the warmer weather in the spring. The work will involve acrylic surfacing and colored lines for the courts, but needs to be done when it is 55 degrees or warmer.

Dunn previously said that there were five bidders for this aspect of the project, and the lowest came in at $25,411 by Vermont Recreational Surfacing and Fencing, Inc.

The sideboards being replaced were “pretty dilapidated,” according to Dunn who said the hope is for the rink to be up and running by mid-December.