{"id":802903,"date":"2020-01-09T17:22:18","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T00:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=376978"},"modified":"2020-01-09T17:22:18","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T00:22:18","slug":"dillon-considers-concepts-for-long-term-partnership-with-ice-castles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/dillon-considers-concepts-for-long-term-partnership-with-ice-castles\/","title":{"rendered":"Dillon considers concepts for long-term partnership with Ice Castles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Workers put the finishing touches on the Ice Castles in Dillon on Friday, Dec. 27. <\/strong>
Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

DILLON \u2014 The Dillon Ice Castles might turn into a more permanent winter fixture at the Town Park as the town and company work through negotiations for a potential long-term agreement.<\/p>\n

The 2019-20 iteration of the ice castles has been open in Dillon for less than two weeks, though leadership at the town and Ice Castles already are looking to the future to decide whether Dillon is the right location to continue to host the attraction in coming years. Past issues with the castles \u2014 including damage to the lawn and the amount of time they shut down other recreational opportunities at the park \u2014 mean it\u2019s unclear whether they will return, especially with major park improvement projects<\/a> on the horizon.<\/p>\n

But Ice Castles representatives have made it clear they intend to open a location in the area next winter, whether it\u2019s in Dillon or not. During the Dillon Town Council work session Tuesday evening, Ice Castles CEO Ryan Davis was in attendance to provide a presentation on new concepts that might allow the castles to remain on a portion of the park, which is considered the only real feasible site in town.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019ve had discussions with (Public Works Director Scott O\u2019Brien) \u2026 we\u2019ve asked a lot of questions about what\u2019s the ground going to be like, and what we think is going to happen with that lawn,\u201d Davis said. \u201cWe\u2019ve spent a lot of time in internal discussion of what our impact would be \u2026 and we\u2019re coming to the conclusion that ice castles on this field probably is not a good idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere we\u2019re at right now is we\u2019re looking at other locations in Summit County because we intend to open next winter, and knowing this (new lawn) is going to be installed this summer puts us in an interesting place to figure out what we\u2019re going to do. As part of that, we started looking at this park plan and figuring out if there was a way that we could mix what we\u2019re doing into that without doing any damage to the multiuse field.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ice castles are certainly popular among business owners in the area<\/a>, who say the attraction helps to drive new customers to their stores and restaurants. According to Davis, the castles have driven an average of almost 145,000 visitors to Dillon over the first two seasons they were in town (2017-18, 2018-19). Davis also noted a considerable economic impact in the area, estimating more than $10 million spent in the greater Summit community during the 2018-19 season as a result of the amenity, along with more than 275 million media impressions.<\/p>\n

But the castles also have driven criticism from some residents in the area<\/a> along with members of the town\u2019s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee because of damage to the park and concerns that the attraction is taking away potential for other park uses for too long during the season. In June, town officials signed off on $1.2 million in park improvements and recently completed a number of upgrades to roadways and parking lots surrounding the area. Improvements will continue later this year, with more than $1 million budgeted for a new multiuse field and playground, among other projects.<\/p>\n

With concerns that the castles might prove counterintuitive to the community\u2019s goals as new improvements go in \u2014 all based on a the Town Park Master Plan adopted following substantial public input in 2014 \u2014 Ice Castles is hopeful that rearranging their designs in the future could ease worries surrounding damage while also allowing the company to stay at the park long-term.<\/p>\n

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Davis presented new concepts for the park that are being considering for the 2020-21 season, noting that while they\u2019re somewhat beyond the brainstorming phase, the proposed designs are still in the early stages.<\/p>\n

The new concept essentially would call for an updated dual-use plan for the north section of the park, moving the ice castles from their current location along Buffalo Street north to Tenderfoot Street, where the existing basketball court is, and creating a series of wildflower gardens that would emerge during summer. This would theoretically open up other parts of the park for even more amenities as part of the experience, including lower maintenance snow caves, lighted and decorative pathways, and even an ice skating rink on one of the tennis courts, among other ideas, all while preserving the incoming field.<\/p>\n

Of note, any long-term agreement with Ice Castles likely would mean financial assistance from the company for capital improvements at the park for things like landscaping and improved drainage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a real opportunity for the town, from my standpoint, to integrate this with a use and manner that can coexist and have synergy with the park plan, particularly for seasonal use,\u201d said Pedro Campos, a landscape architect with Zehren and Associates who helped the town design the park master plan. \u201cThat\u2019s something we need to think through. For the summer, the field and playground will be a draw and attraction. In the winter, it\u2019s much more of a passive space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Initial responses from members of the public to the proposal were split, with some lauding the town for searching for solutions to keep the ice castles in Dillon and support local businesses. <\/p>\n

\u201cI commend you for being open minded to what I thought was a great idea that would definitely help my business and other business owners,\u201d said Judy Jordan, one of the owners of Pug Ryan\u2019s Brewery. \u201cThe business they provide to our community is substantial, and we would provide better paying and more jobs in the event there was a long-term partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though, not all were thrilled about the new proposal, including Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee member Barb Richard, who was in attendance and chided council members and Ice Castles for how the attraction has been handled over the past few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a master plan that went through an extensive public process,\u201d Richard said. \u201cWe\u2019re now moving into construction phases for this plan. This is talking about huge changes to the plan. I\u2019d like to remind the council that the public owns this park. \u2026 This is a business operating on public land. As we\u2019ve stated multiple times before, we feel they are not paying for the annual damage they inflict on the park. They are tying up the park and basically the town is being used.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re using significant square footage for business profit, and the town is not getting a percentage of every ticket. \u2026 It needs to be looked at by the community. As a resident who lives up there, you\u2019re talking about giving them more of the park to use, more of the park to lock up. And they have not proven themselves to be worthy partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

While council members largely expressed optimism that the proposal could end up working, several also voiced concerns about tying up too much of the park with paid amenities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the ice castles being put in another position in the park, but I do not like the idea of three-quarters of the Town Park being pay to enter for ice skating or snow caves,\u201d Councilman Kyle Hendricks said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it sounds like a really cool idea, but I\u2019d kind of hate to see the whole park fenced off,\u201d Councilwoman Karen Kaminski added.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the council decided to continue conversations to make a long-term partnership work but also noted a desire to get members of the public involved in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like this use may be a little divergent from what we went through in this yearslong process for the Town Park,\u201d Mayor Carolyn Skowyra said. \u201cThat was a very public process, and the public was super involved. So I wonder if it would be appropriate to go back to the public, and say \u2018We have this option to change what we initially talked about for the Town Park, and what do you think of it?\u2019 That\u2019s a direction I\u2019d feel comfortable going in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The town will be hosting a public work session on the park from 5-7 p.m. Jan. 30 at Dillon Town Hall. For more information on the work session or the new proposals, visit townofdillon.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Workers put the finishing touches on the Ice Castles in Dillon on Friday, Dec. 27. Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com DILLON \u2014 The Dillon Ice Castles might turn into a more permanent winter fixture at the Town Park as the town and company work through negotiations for a potential long-term agreement. The 2019-20 iteration of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-802903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-29 01:48:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802903\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}