Letters to the Editor
“Coated Chainlink”
Dear Editor,
I recently attended the Mammoth Creek Park/Ice Rink relocation workshop. My residence and business property are both within close proximity to Mammoth Creek Park. I am NOT opposed to the relocation of the ice rink to the proposed location.
But there are some serious considerations.
The environmental review of the relocation must consider the visual impacts. The existing ice rink is clearly an eyesore in non-snow months, when it looks more like a prison yard than a resort amenity. The community doesn’t need this appearance at one of our most pristine locations.
The initial proposal to house and contain the outbuildings within the confines of the new structure is certainly necessary. The surrounding fencing needs to be something that is visually pleasing, and “coated chain link” isn’t. And again, especially at this location. While the Town wavers arbitrarily as the local “aesthetic police” in Mammoth, it does have the burden of leadership in this sphere. Visual impacts are likely the most serious environmental impact.
The ultimate design of the new facility must also incorporate the theme of “multi-use, joint-use” that is critical in a community like ours. This facility needs to be available and promoted for different activities in the non-skating months.
The east side ice rink proposal shows an improved road and parking spaces down the Creek Road. This should be pursued in the future as additional parking for the immediate vicinity. I often ride and walk through this area and there is demand for parking in all seasons. It would be a nice complement to Park, the paved trail system, the Museum, etc.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Paul Oster
Mammoth Lakes
A Henstory lesson
Dear Editor:
In 1999, the town of Mammoth Lakes proposed to build an ice rink in Mammoth Creek Park West. An Environmental Impact Report, available to the public, was written and eventually the idea was given up as infeasible.
One of the concerns of the 1999 EIR was noise mitigation for the more than 100 residential units bordering the park. I have read the report and the recommended mitigation at that time was to construct a 25-foot high wall along the northern property line and a 19-foot high wall along the western property line to reduce noise. This is just one of the many concerns that made Mammoth Creek West a poor choice for this much-needed facility. While any site chosen will be costly to develop, why choose one that is likely to incur high costs to defend and mitigate?
Kathy Henry
Mammoth Lakes
Adamantly Opposed
The following letter was written to Town Recreation Manager Stuart Brown by the Board of Directors for Mammoth Creek Condominiums and submitted to The Sheet for publication.
Dear Mr. Brown,
We are responding to your request for feedback regarding the proposed relocation of the Ice rink to Mammoth Creek Park West (MCW), which is extremely close to the east border of our complex’s property.
We have examined the April 1 report, “Multi-Use Facility (Ice and Roller Rink) Location Options” (Staff Report) and have numerous concerns and questions. Our initial reaction to the proposal is that we are adamantly opposed.
Please address the questions and concerns below to help our community determine the most advantageous approach to the ice rink and park use.
The 1998 proposal for an ice rink at MCW failed. This current proposal is, for all intents and purposes, a recycled version that raises the same concerns. In 1998, the condominium complexes surrounding MCW united to oppose the proposal and are poised to do so once more. Our current opposition is a recycled version of that which we mounted in 1998:
*The rink’s proximity is too close to residential areas adjacent to MCW and on Old Mammoth Road; MCW is inappropriate for an active commercial and recreational use of this kind. MCW is designed for passive use appropriate to a residential area.
*The rink would dramatically increase the noise, foot traffic/trespassing, trash and traffic in a residential area, resulting in a precipitous decrease in residents’ quality of life. With its evening operation hours, it would also increase the area’s vulnerability to crime and nuisance.
*Limited parking at MCW will invite parking on Meadow Lane and Old Mammoth Road. In addition, the conceptual plan shows a maintenance access road off Meadow Lane, which makes parking on that street as convenient and appealing as the main parking lot. Not only will this expose properties on Meadow Lane to illegal parking and trespass, it will also block the bike lanes in no-snow seasons and increase the potential for bike and pedestrian accidents and altercations.
*The proximity of the rink will make the surrounding properties less appealing to renters and buyers, potentially decreasing property values and TOT revenues.
*Rink attendance will increase traffic on Old Mammoth Road, a particular concern on the curve with limited visibility.
*In recent years, the Town has aggressively combat light pollution. The proposed lighting of the rink would represent a step backward.
The Town’s proposal has bypassed formal community input. While the Town Council seems to be responding to community support of the ice rink, it has not done its due diligence to consider a wide range of opinions other than a single point of view expressed by a small group that has actively lobbied for the rink for years. If the staff members had surveyed the community as was done with the Plan Your Parks process, they would have a) considered criteria beyond the expedience-focused list the staff used, b) been exposed to viewpoints that challenge their assumptions about community support, and c) made a recommendation that reflects the community’s values, not the will of the Council.
According to the Staff Report, the Town conducted its analysis of seven potential sites the month prior to making its recommendation. Given the proposed expenditure is approximately $1.4 million of public funding, a single month is not adequate time to perform the kind of cost/benefit, community/environmental impact, infrastructure analyses the scope of this project warrants. We, as taxpayers, are alarmed at the cavalier method of analysis the Town employed and are not confident in its findings.
In his April 2 and 9 editorials in The Sheet, Jack Lunch questioned the Town’s position regarding the drawbacks of the current location and contends that the Town and School District can work a deal with the current location that makes better financial sense than relocation. He also questioned the estimated cost of relocation and restoration of the current site as being extremely optimistic. Lunch asked valid questions and raised valid concerns.
Please clarify how the ice rink relocation affects the broader Plan Your Parks initiative that the Town Council accepted last August. It appears that the proposed location of the rink would overlap the Plan Your Parks footprint of the pool and community center, a glaring inconsistency with the Recreation Department’s Master Plan. Has that initiative been supplanted with the ice rink relocation proposal?
The Staff Report states that ice rink visitation averages 7,000 per year—how has that number been calculated? Does it account for individual users visiting throughout the season, or the total number of visits each season regardless of repeated attendance? If the rink simply tallies the number of skaters each operational day, the true average number of users would be far lower and representative of a small percentage of total residents and tourists whose tax dollars subsidize the rink’s operation.
Regarding the existing bike trail that connects to Meadow Lane at the west end of MCW: it appears that the planned maintenance access road would interfere with the bike lane entrance/exit. What are long-term plans regarding the trail? What kind of impact would the rink have on those plans?
Would an EIR be completed and be made available to the public prior to approval?
We believe that the proposal to relocate the ice rink to MCW does not take into account the costs that nearby residential property owners will pay. Also, we have no confidence in the manner by which the recommendations were arrived at. We suspect that if the true costs—monetary and otherwise—were properly accounted for, Mammoth Creek Park East, Shady Rest, or the current location would emerge as far better and more realistic choices.
Regards,
Mammoth Creek Condominium HOA
