Council members displeased with condition of locker rooms at Falleti Ice Arena
City Council members piggybacked on a request by Public Works Director Matt Worth to replace the dehumidification unit at Falleti Ice Arena to express their disdain for the conditions of the locker rooms and other aspects of the facility during their meeting Monday night at City Centre Council Chambers.
“The locker rooms are disgusting … as a city we should be ashamed of ourselves to let it go this much,” Councilman Paul Viele said. “We need to help the rink management to get them where they need to be.”
Viele (armed with photos -- see above) and Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. pointed out that the locker rooms exhibit mold in the carpeting, peeling paint, hanging cable lines and falling ceiling tiles, prompting Worth to say that previous inspections revealed that “general housekeeping was not up to par.”
Councilman John Canale mentioned the size and condition of the locker room for the women and girls who play in organized leagues at the Evans Street rink.
“The female locker room is very small,” Canale said.
Viele agreed, stating that plans need to be made to create a separate, adequate area for females.
“We need to get a women’s locker room so some of the women and girls aren’t sharing a locker room with the guys. We need to spruce it up to be competitive with other rinks like Lakeshore and Bill Gray’s and Scottsville as other teams want to come and enjoy our rink.”
Viele also said he didn’t like it when the heaters weren’t turned on for spectators at youth league games.
“It seems like they’re only on when the high school plays,” he said. “What about when all of these people come to watch their kids – hundreds of visitors who spend money at our restaurants?”
He noted that the Zamboni machine that resurfaces the ice broke down over the weekend, and that a replacement had to be found.
City Manager Jason Molino, who plays in the Batavia Men’s League at Falleti Ice Arena, said he hadn’t heard of any complaints, but welcomes public input.
“If there are complaints we’d like to hear them so we can move sooner rather than later,” Molino said. “Then we will sit down with the operator (Firland Management).”
Per the city’s contract with Firland, the management group is responsible for maintenance and upkeep.
At the close of the discussion, Council instructed Worth to talk to Firland personnel about their concerns.