Brewer hopeful arena will be used for hockey

BREWER – Officials told the City Council on Tuesday evening they have real hopes that the T.J. Ryan Center will continue to be used for ice hockey after it is sold at auction.

“I have been aggressively trying to market it myself,” Development Director Drew Sachs told the council. “I have identified three such suitors, and am somewhat confident that at least two of them plan on bidding.”

The center, formerly known as the H.O. Bouchard Arena, is due to be sold at auction Sept. 6 because of foreclosure actions on the property owned by Louis and Caryle Janicki of Hampden.

The interested parties are for-profit entities, Sachs said, adding that they have said they would plan to continue to have the arena available for Brewer Youth Hockey, for use by high school hockey teams, and for parks and recreation programs.

Moreover, Sachs said, the parties said they would invest in the physical needs of the facility.

Councilors said they were glad that youth hockey would be a part of the plans.

“I would think those people would find this council ready to work with them if they are willing to make Brewer Youth Hockey the No. 1 priority,” Council Chairman Michael Celli said.

Councilor Larry Doughty asked Sachs whether he had heard from a party interested in doing something different with the property.

Sachs said he had not, but that Keenan Auction Co. had fielded inquiries by people other than those he had talked with.

In a related action, the council rescinded an earlier decision to credit ice time payments against taxes owed on the arena. The vote had been taken when the arena owners were expecting to refinance their loan, but those plans fell through.

In other business, the council voted 4-0 to extend City Manager Steve Bost’s contract for three years until May 2005, although Doughty voiced concerns about the contract document.

Doughty emphasized that Bost, who has managed Brewer since early 1999, had done “a good job,” but said he would not have proposed the 5 percent increase in salary if he had realized the contract could earn Bost an extra $5,000 in incentives for reaching certain “benchmarks” set by the council.

Doughty said that those conditions, which included setting up evaluations for the city’s department heads, consisted of duties that should be assumed to be part of the city manager’s regular job.

Councilor Donna Thornton responded that the council that had negotiated the contract wanted to set a new tone, and to make clear that the arrangement was to be “performance-based,” as it is with department heads.

Thornton said she would support the contract for three years, and wished it were for 10 years.

Beginning in May 2002, Bost will make $78,218 a year. The city also will pay more than $800 a month toward the cost of his family health insurance coverage.

Also on Tuesday, the council:

. Awarded a contract for engineering services to Plymouth Engineering Inc. for work on a new public works facility.

. Revised the purchasing ordinance, raising the limits on purchases that could be made without a council vote.

. Heard comments from Central Avenue resident Ertin Cameron, who said that blasting in South Brewer last summer had damaged his artesian well. Code Enforcement Officer David Russell said he had given Cameron information on filing a claim with the involved company’s insurance representative.

. Heard complaints from two property owners about large increases in valuation. Assessor Mary Lynne Hunter explained that with the assistance of an independent appraiser, the city had increased valuations on two categories of buildings the past two years in order to bring assessments into line with market value.

. Commended Brewer High School student Ian Robinson for winning the state singles championship in boys tennis.

. Passed a resolution of respect for the late Kenneth L. Ward. Copies of the resolution were given to Ward’s wife and children, who were in attendance.