Kasabuski manager leads tour of rink

SAUGUS – Kasabuski Arena Manager John Hatch gave a tour of the rink Monday that he said might have been the worst thing he’s ever had to do.”Give away my job,” he said.Hatch spent an hour squiring potential lessees around the rink pointing out the positive as well as the negative. The town is hoping to lease the rink and by doing so unload the $650,000-$750,000 deficit that’s hanging over it.But the possible lessees seemed skeptical at best.While Hatch showed them the ticket office, concession stand, pro shop and locker rooms, he also had to show them the aged dehumidifier, the spots on the ice that showed there were leaks under the ice bed, the trenches original to the building and spots where the boards were rotted out.It was originally built in 1960 as an open-air rink, but a roof, the wrong one according to Hatch, was put on the building in 1984. Five years ago the rink received money from the state to put on a new state-of-the-art roof. Aside from a relatively new and very babied Zamboni machine, however, the roof is the only thing that could likely be called state-of-the-art. While one dehumidifier is only a year or so old, Hatch said the second one is original to the building.”I can tell you for sure I have brine leaks,” he said, referring to the substance that keeps the ice frozen.He also pointed to the edge of the rink where the concrete is eroding, another sign of brine leaks, he explained.Hatch pointed out the ancient boiler, which he labeled one of his biggest problems.”You can imagine how much oil we might go through,” he said.After a transformer caught fire three years ago, however, the electrical throughout the building was redone and one of the brine pumps is only a few years old. The problem is the backup brine pump doesn’t work at all and the panel that controls both pumps along with the dehumidifiers is also original to the building and needs replacing.”The last piece to the puzzle is the ball field out back,” Hatch said. “We’re also responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the ball field.”While one potential lessee questioned the parking situation, which is limited, others marveled at the general poor shape of the entire operation.David McCarthy of McCarthy Associates said he remembered clearly being one of the first teams to skate on Kasabuski when it was built.”Pee Wee Hockey, Melrose,” he said. “We were the first group to skate here when it opened.”McCarthy said the place definitely needs some tender loving care and it wouldn’t come cheap.When McCarthy wondered aloud about the deficit Bob Rotondo of Ristoccia Arena in Wilmington said he could explain the deficit.”The people of Saugus won’t want to hear this but I’ll tell you why, because no one ever paid for their ice time,” he said.Larry Abbott, owner of Hockey Town, suggested the town turn the rink into a soccer arena since the town has more soccer teams than hockey teams.”It’s a great place in the right location but it needs to be taken apart and put back together and it needs to be done right,” Rotondo said.And to do that he estimates it will take $1 million to $1.3 million.Hatch said money is the gist of his problem.”We’re open to operate,” he said. “The problem is there’s no money in our budget. Repairs are done by yours truly and my guys. From plumbing to carpentry, it’s just us.”Rotondo did commend Hatch, however, for keeping the rink running as well as it was and for being honest with the potential lessees.”You’re telling everything that’s wrong with the place too, which is the right thing to do,” he said.