Corrected at 12:55 p.m. to include the fact that the $1.50 increase won't take place until 2019. By JIMMY LAWTON OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg City Council will increase rates at the Lockwood Civic Center …
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Corrected at 12:55 p.m. to include the fact that the $1.50 increase won't take place until 2019.
By JIMMY LAWTON
OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg City Council will increase rates at the Lockwood Civic Center by $1.50 per hour in 2019, despite protests from Deputy Mayor Daniel Skamperle.
Rates for non-residents will increase $5 this season, but rates for residents will not increase until next year.
Skamperle said he wanted to see the ice arena charge enough to break even, but a report provided by the recreation commission showed the city would have to raise rates by $35 per hour to achieve that goal, which no one on the board was comfortable with.
Ogdensburg Recreation Director Matthew Curatolo said the recreation commission would prefer to raise rates by $1.50 per year, with annual review to determine if the rate should be adjusted.
Skamperle said he believed a $5 increase across the board for 2019 was reasonable, but Curatolo said the commission believed that increasing rates too much could drive down usage and not necessarily generate more revenue.
Sarah Purdy told the council that pricing the arena is a bit of a balancing act. She said the Lockwood arena lacks many amenities that other ice arenas provide which means it needs to be very competitive in pricing in order to attract renters.
The Lockwood arena does not have heat or concessions.
Skamperle said the increase was unlikely to cover the annual raises of workers, who make minimum wage.
Curatolo said that most times only one person is working unless there is a rock and skate, or an event that generates a large amount of trash or requires extra hands.
In the end the council agreed to increase rates by $1.50 with Skamperle opposed.
The 2019 rates will be $71.50 per hour for youth resident groups, $96.50 per hour for youth non-resident groups, $81.50 per hour for adult resident groups, $106.50 for adult non-resident groups and $71.50 per hour for special events.