Saugus signs lease on arena

SAUGUS – The Board of Selectmen lifted a very expensive weight off the town’s back Tuesday when it approved the sublease for the Kasabuski Arena.The board voted 5-0 to sign a lease agreement between the town and the Department of Conservation and Recreation and to sign a sublease between the town and Nathaniel S. Maniff and John P. Curley.Selectman Stephen Horlick spent nearly 20 minutes raising concerns and in the end said he thought the town could have negotiated a more financially advantageous contract. He did, however, support the agreement.Selectman Michael Kelleher took offense at his colleague’s inference that the town failed to negotiate a solid deal.Kelleher noted that the rink had been put out to bid twice, since the first deal fell through and that the contract with Maniff and Curley was in fact the best deal the town could muster.The contract states the pair will have to pay the town a total of $910,000 over a 19 year period. That includes $150,000 up front and $40,000 per year through 2028.Horlick argued that $40,000 in 19 years time would amount to pennies on the today’s dollar but Kelleher said he was missing the bigger picture.Kelleher argued that if a the deal to lease the rink had not been struck the town would have not only received nothing but would have incurred a nearly $1 million debt. It’s also like, according to Selectman Peter Rossetti that the town would have been responsible for a lengthy list of expensive capital improvements to the rink.In the contract Maniff and Curley laid out a capital improvement plan with a timeline. They also agreed, by accepting the request for proposal, to keep ice time at $175 per hour for Saugus Youth Hockey and Saugus High School for at least the first year.Horlick argued that the ice time costs should have been spelled out in the contract. Rossetti said any bump in ice time rates must be approved by DCR and DCR has made it known that affordable ice rates for the local hockey teams is important.”All I’m saying is if that’s true it should be in the contract and we should sign it to protect all the parents out there,” Horlick said.Horlick also took issue with the fact that the town would be picking water and sewer charges for the next three years and insurance for one year.Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said the town pays for water and sewer at all the Little League and soccer fields and he felt it was an easy concession to make. The insurance he said, was hardly worth the paper work to switch since the fiscal year has already started.Forest Street resident Karla deStuben said she was glad to see the town finally settle the issue but hoped the new tenants would adhere to an agreement that has games ending at 9:30 p.m. and the rink cleared out by 11 p.m. She said she’d also like to see Maniff and Curley address the illegal parking issue that tends to rear its head every season.Seven residents, including coaches, High School Principal Joseph Diorio and Town Moderator Robert Long rose to thank Bisignani for negotiating the deal and protecting youth sports that includes a Little League field behind the rink.”It’s a win-win-win for the kids, for the parents who won’t have to pay more for hockey and for the town,” said Kelleher. “We end up with a rink, a baseball field and the town’s relieved of a financial burden.”