Saugus selectmen debate use of video games at Kasabuski Arena

SAUGUS – Three video games – Pacman, Lethal Weapon and a crane machine – became the focal point of what one resident called a slippery slope for the Selectmen Tuesday.Kasabuski Arena operator Daniel Maniff asked Selectmen for permission to install three coin-operated games but Forest Street resident Karla de Steuben warned the board it could be opening Pandora’s box by granting the request.De Steuben said she wasn’t necessarily for or against the machines, but she noted they were outside the scope of what the facility was being used for, which is ice skating. The building, which is owned by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, has been an ice skating facility for more than 40 years.”I’m concerned that once he gets three he’ll get five and it will become less about skating and more about an arcade,” de Steuben said.De Steuben said she was also worried that the games would encourage children to hang around or even go out of their way to visit the rink, thus causing parking problems in an already cramped lot.Selectman Peter Rossetti noted that Hockey Town also had coin operated games – more than three – so the town would be not be setting a precedent by granting them.He said it was his understanding that Maniff was only seeking the games as a way to occupy kids waiting for ice time or waiting for siblings to finish skating. Maniff confirmed his assessment.Chairman Donald Wong asked Maniff if he would police the area and make sure the kids playing the games had some connection, a reason for being at the rink other than the games.Maniff said he would, but Selectman Michael Kelleher stopped short of calling the idea ridiculous.”We’re talking about three games here,” he said. “No one is going to go out of their way to drive over to Kasabuski to play video games.”Kelleher said considering what Maniff has done in taking on the burden of the rink, relieving the town of a deficit and providing low cost skating to Saugus Youth Hockey and the high school team, “if the man wants three machines as far as I’m concerned I’ll give him three machines and I don’t intend to ask him to do a hand count. I really think we’re making too much out of this.”De Steuben argued that her concern was legitimate because by allowing the machines, the board was opening the door for an alternative use of the skating facility.”And it is a big deal to make sure any use is appropriate for the neighborhood,” she said.Kasabuski differs from Hockey Town in that it is nestled in a residential area. De Steuben, who grew up down the street from the rink and moved back to the area several years ago, has since led the fight to protect the neighborhood from possible encroachment by the arena.She said she merely wanted her concerns on the record.The board approved the request 4-1 with Selectman Stephen Horlick casting the lone opposing vote.