JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Parks and Recreation Commission has approved, 4-0, a contract with Interstate Engineering for preliminary design and engineering services to build an outdoor hockey rink at McElroy Park.

Commissioner Mike Landscoot was absent from the meeting on Monday, August 13.

The agreement with Interstate Engineering is contingent upon the signing of donation and event agreements by the Jamestown Parks and Recreation District and Hockey Day North Dakota. The agreement is also contingent upon the Parks and Recreation District signing a $10,000 deposit through Hockey Day North Dakota organizer Jeff Romsdal.

Amy Walters, executive director of the Jamestown Parks and Recreation District, said after the meeting that the commission had previously approved accepting the donation of an outdoor hockey rink from Hockey Day North Dakota organizers. She said Romsdal wanted assurances that the Hockey Day North Dakota event could be held at the outdoor rink at McElroy Park once it was built.

Before signing the event and donation agreements for the outdoor hockey rink, Romsdal must provide a list of the items to be donated, along with their value and condition.

Walters said the outdoor rink is expected to be donated and Hockey Day North Dakota and Romsdal will cover the cost of permanent installation. She said the outdoor rink will have all the features of a rink at John L. Wilson Arena.

The outdoor hockey rink would be built where the existing one is currently located in McElroy Park.

John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun

Walters said an engineer would be needed because building the outdoor track would cost more than $200,000.

“Interstate Engineering’s job is to determine what needs to be done to adequately build this outdoor ice rink. Then we prepare the plans and specifications so we can put this work out to public tender,” she said.

She said the cost of the engineering services is unknown because an outdoor hockey rink is not a typical project that Interstate Engineering works on. She said a $10,000 advance to Interstate Engineering is required.

“Work would be halted until a new agreement was reached and payment was received from Romsdal,” she said.

Walters said Hockey Day North Dakota will not be owned by the parks and recreation district.

“It’s just a matter of determining how they will use the facility, what we are responsible for and what they are responsible for,” she said, referring to the event agreement.

In other business, the commission unanimously approved an engineering services contract with Interstate Engineering to renovate Nickeus Park.

Walters said the Parks and Recreation District received a $623,000 state grant and another $50,000 from the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District.

Walters said Nickeus Park will be completely renovated to make it accessible to everyone. She said the renovations included restrooms, shelters and the playground.

“The playground itself will be all-encompassing and will have poured-in-place surfacing and all those things,” she said.

Walters said the estimated cost of the project is $1.2 million.

Masaki Ova joined The Jamestown Sun as a reporter in August 2021. He grew up on a farm near Pingree, ND. He studied communications at the University of Jamestown, ND