Mat-Su Assembly accepts $2.5 million to refrigerate the ice at Big Lake's rink

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly on Tuesday accepted $2.5 million from the Mat-Su Health Foundation for a refrigerated ice sheet, new dasher boards and a plexiglass system at the Big Lake Lions Recreation Center. The assembly passed the ordinance and a companion resolution without objection at the public hearing Alaska News previewed Oct. 14.

The rink now relies on natural freezing to make its ice. The borough's information memorandum says that often delays the start of the ice and makes its quality inconsistent through the season. The grant requires no local match. Its grant period runs through Dec. 1, and the agreement lets the borough ask the foundation in writing to extend it.

Members of the Houston High School hockey team came to the meeting in uniform. Their coach told the assembly the team has 30 players this year, its biggest in probably more than 20 years. For now the team gets one hour of ice at the Menard Center starting at 2:45 pm, so students must leave school early to make practice. Many of the players have skated at the Big Lake rink since they were 6, 7 or 8 years old and call it their home rink, he said.

"This is really going to make the Big Lake Lions Rec Center a year-round facility for our young athletes," Assemblymember Bill Gamble said. He said the rink would serve kids north and west of the core area, where there are already two ice rinks.

Borough Manager Mike Brown said the award was "a very significant portion" of what the foundation was giving out this year.