icesaver.org
For various reasons, the situation now is that every possible support by people in Pasadena and surrounding communities is absolutely required if a positive result is to be obtained. Despite expressed, and genuine, support by the City Council in the past, the Project has been unfortunately badly formulated and badly managed, by the inexperienced City Staff; and hardly 'overseen' by the Council since they formally approved a (preliminary) budget of $16.5 Million in 2005. If the ice rink project ends, so ends more than 70 years of ice skating in Pasadena.
Since those responsible choose to release as little detailed information as possible, it is difficult to learn the actual numbers, but it seems that the estimated total cost now exceeds $25 Million, including unanticipated site preparation.
Despite past and likely future claims by City officials to the contrary (including members of the Council), there truthfully is
One simple reason for the ballooning cost: Failure of Staff and Council to get the professional help they needed, and to recognize from the beginning (they were warned four years ago, and they should have acted accordingly) that time wasted meant seriously increased costs.
Design of the facility
began in 2005. During subsequent years, world-wide costs of construction
materials increased at %15 - %20 per year. In 2009 the interested people
of Pasadena still wait, now not so patiently.
During that time, the City's design effort has gone through three
're-design' exercises (at a cost of well over a million dollars), the
first two intended to reduce the costs of construction. To this day,
the Council still does NOT know what they have received for the funding
they have approved. Public reports on details of the Project have been
nearly zero, and there never has been a complete Design Review,
anywhere, of the proposed facility.
The following document was first given to the City Manager, and
subsequently to the Council, with ample time for all parties to provide
corrections of fact. We have received none, so we assume that all agree
with the facts we present here.
We believe that the youth of Pasadena and surrounding areas merit
continuation of an important recreation facility. On the last page we
outline a proposal we offered NINE years ago, and which never received
proper consideration, nor was any alternative proposed and discussed.