Jeb Wallace-brodeur
Verrmont Statehouse
Though the weather has turned more conducive to ice making, there will be no ice skating on the Statehouse lawn this year.
Two Montpelier residents who had hoped to set up a temporary 50-by-100-foot public rink say the state Department of Buildings and General Services has put too many conditions on the project for them to pull it off this year. But they are still hoping for at least a one-year pilot project next year.
“After looking over the full list of BGS conditions, we simply won’t be able to put all the pieces together to get the rink off the ground this winter,” Nate Hausman and Kim McKee said by email.
BGS Commissioner Michael Obuchowski had said he had concerns about lasting effects a rink might leave on the sprawling lawn that leads to the Statehouse.
McKee and Hausman said BGS asked them to establish a $10,000 line of credit to pay for any potential property damage, plus get agreements with the city of Montpelier to offer assistance and to guarantee that trained attendants would be on hand whenever the rink is open.
“We think we can meet these conditions, we'll just need some more time to all the pieces together,” McKee and Hausman said.