MORGANTOWN — They used words like “negligent,” “absurd,” and “crazy,” but the half dozen speakers who addressed the BOPARC Board of Directors on Wednesday were all basically saying the same thing in regard to the Morgantown Ice Arena project.
It’s way too much money for way too little improvement.
And now there appear to be cracks forming in BOPARC’s resolve to move forward.
About an hour and a half before Wednesday’s meeting, an email was circulated explaining the body would not vote on a construction bid for the project.
BOPARC Executive Director Melissa Wiles explained project architect and administrator Mills Group was still working through specifications and comparative analysis on the bids, which were received on the afternoon of Feb. 2.
BOPARC convened less than 24 hours after a Morgantown City Council discussion disclosed the all-in project cost had likely climbed to about $13 million based on the submissions of a single bidder.
Wednesday’s speakers, most of whom represented the Morgantown Hockey Association, said BOPARC must move away from the idea of renovating around the existing wooden skeleton of the building.
“The actual user experience comes down to those beams and the fact that you can’t have anybody sit in some portion of that rink and look left or right and see the whole game,” Matt Nelson said. “Anything you do that doesn’t involve removing those doesn’t meaningfully change what we already have. It just puts lipstick on it and makes it look a little nicer.”
The Morgantown Ice Arena began life in the 1970s as a canopy over an outdoor sheet of ice. Don Spencer was part of the committee that helped steer the current arena’s construction.
“The architect who designed the beams or what-have-you had never been to an ice rink. This is what we were told by the person working with him … Those beams were part of the picnic shelter kind of mindset the architect was most familiar with,” Spencer said before suggesting “Find out what new rinks are costing today to construct and what materials are most efficient to use in the construction.”
MHA President Frank Oliverio reiterated his belief that BOPARC could likely build a more functional facility from scratch starting at $6 million.
“I know you’ve heard us say that before. We’re saying it again because it’s true. We see that everywhere. They’re simple buildings. They don’t really cost that much,” he said. “You’re trying to shoehorn in something that can’t be done. I’ll correct myself. It can be done. Anything can be done with enough money, and that’s my problem.”
But there was a significant departure from previous public discussions of the project.
“I think that in this situation my view is starting to fracture from a lot of the board,” BOPARC President and Deputy Mayor Danielle Trumble said, explaining her personal opinion is that it may be time to take another look at the costs and benefits of the project.
“When people are looking for a new job, they say you can either work where you want, doing what you want or making what you want, and you have to pick two,” she said. “The design we want, for the budget we have and the timeline we’re going for, we’re not getting any of those. So I think it’s time to wait.”
BOPARC is expected to take up the project bids in a special meeting anticipated for next week.
