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posted 05/17/2012 New Canaan Winter Club Members
Re: Rink Replacement Project
Dear Members:
It seems odd to be writing this letter to you on a beautiful spring afternoon when many of our children are out on the lacrosse, baseball, and soccer fields, as opposed to enjoying hard crisp ice on Frogtown Road. If you drove past the Club right now, you would think that we were getting ready for summer trying to build a swimming pool.
This letter is to update you on the progress of our rink construction project. Shortly after our ice melted, the boards and fencing were disassembled and stored on site. The next step was to begin the demolition work. The demolition proved challenging due to the thickness of the concrete, and all the plastic tubing, styrofoam, and metal which all had to be properly sorted. We are into phase 2 of the project which involves the excavation and digging down through the sand and organic material to get to the hard packed clay to have a proper base in place which has been one of the issues. One of our concerns was how deep we would have to dig in order to have this proper base and avoid any further drainage issues under the rink bed itself. In some areas we have had to go much deeper than what we had hoped. This is exactly one of the reasons we had to re-do the rink bed to make sure that we avoid any drainage issues underneath which causes settling and ultimately affects the integrity of the rink bed itself. This increased digging and additional fill that will be needed is the phase we are currently in and our hope is that it be completed as soon as possible so that we can have the company in from Minnesota who will construct the new rink and oversee the installation of the rink bed. We are currently a few weeks behind due to the increased excavation work and the additional fill that has been required. Nonetheless, we still continue to have our goal to have everything completed in the fall.
If you drive by the rink you will see what is involved to re-do the rink, electrical work, sidewalks, and ultimately the driveway. As you can well imagine, this is a massive undertaking, but one which has been carefully thought through and which has been overseen on a daily basis. I want to give special thanks to Ty Tregellas, Bruce and Rick who have been monitoring this on a daily basis.
With respect to the financial position of the Club we continue to feel we are in good shape and are doing our best to stay on budget with respect to this project despite the increased excavation work. In order to avoid an assessment however, we need to count on two things occurring:
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Going forward, the project staying on budget with no further complications.
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All members making prompt payment of all dues and fees owed to the Club.
From a requirements perspective the Club has three financial demands: (i) its on-going operating expenses, (ii) its program expenses, and (iii) capital expenditure requirements. With respect to (iii) herein, the Club has worked hard over the years to build up the capital account to be able to pay for the current rink project. Nonetheless, in undertaking such a project, there often become new requirements that are unforeseen (i.e., increased excavation; the potential for having to re-do some of the mechanical equipment; and the realization there may be other projects on site that have to be undertaken in the next year or two, including, but not limited to, the dredging of our pond.) It is our hope to continue to move forward without assessment, but there is always that possibility and we ask for your patience and understanding with respect to such.
Needless to say, should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or any of my fellow Board Members and we look forward to keeping you updated throughout the process.
Regards and a Healthy and Happy Spring to everyone.
Tight Laces,
Kenneth M. Gammill, Jr.
President
Board of Governors
New Canaan Winter Club
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