SNOW HILL – After two tie votes, local officials agreed to delay a decision regarding the future of the county’s synthetic ice rink.
Though the Worcester County Commissioners were expected to decide the fate of the county’s ice rink this week after agreeing to get rid of it last month, motions to sell it and donate it failed with 3-3 votes. The commissioners subsequently voted 6-0 to table the decision until Commissioner Eric Fiori, who was absent, was in attendance.
“We’ll bring it back in two weeks,” Commissioner Chip Bertino said.
The commissioners voted 4-3 last month to cease ice rink operations and determine how best to dispose of the 52-foot by 32-foot rink. The synthetic rink was purchased by the county for close to $70,000 in 2019. Commissioners who voted to get rid of the rink cited the expense of setting it up—as it takes eight staff members four hours to do so—and the fact that it was underutilized.
Procurement Officer Nicholas Rice told the commissioners this week that there were several ways the county could get rid of the rink. He said it could be donated to a local municipality or a nonprofit, it could be sold through GovDeals, the county’s online auction site, or the county could issue an invitation to bid.
“If the commissioners decide to donate, we would ask for a narrative on how and when the ice rink will be utilized,” Rice wrote in his memo to the commissioners. “This will allow for evaluation criteria to help decide who will receive the donation. If the commissioners decide to sell the rink, GovDeals is an online auction site that the County currently uses for surplus items or a bid could be released requesting interested parties submit the amount they would be willing to pay.”
So far, interest in the rink has been expressed by Ocean City Tourism, the Town of Berlin, City of Salisbury, the Town of Ridgely, the Ocean City Development Corporation, Jolly Roger and the Town of Snow Hill.
Commissioner Jim Bunting made a motion to seek bids for the rink and pursue donating it if there wasn’t any interest. The motion failed with a 3-3 vote.
A subsequent motion by Commissioner Joe Mitrecic to gather proposals from the in-county entities interested in the rink and then to donate it to one of them also failed with a 3-3 vote.
A motion by Commissioner Ted Elder to table the decision then passed with a 6-0 vote.
The issue is expected to be included on the commissioners’ Feb. 21 agenda.
