Residents express concern over rink noise

PONDERAY — Several city residents appealed to the Ponderay City Council on Monday for assistance with noise control at the new ice rink on Kootenai Cutoff Road.

Residents of the nearby Woodland Crossing apartments told the council the arena's loud music and noise could be heard throughout the day, often not ending until well after 10 p.m. Some said the noise can be overwhelming, comparing it to a car parked outside your home with the radio blaring and being unable to do anything about it.

One asked if there were ways to control the volume, asking if the devices playing the music and broadcasting the sounds had separate controls that could be adjusted, such as the bass or the volume.

"It's overwhelming," the resident said. "It's like listening to a car coming down your street and then parking in front of your house and staying there for four hours."

When she's talked to neighbors, they've shared similar tales, the woman told the council.

One, also a resident at the Woodland Crossing, said the pounding of the hockey puck so late at night reverberates around her apartment, making it difficult to sleep.

Ponderay officials said they sympathized with the residents and said they would work with North Idaho Ice officials and city crews in both the short- and long-term.

The Kootenai Cutoff Road site was selected as a temporary location for the ice rink, nicknamed "The Pond," since the infrastructure for the rink's planned long-term home at the Field of Dreams does not yet exist.

While utility connections had to be installed on Kootenai Cutoff, existing service was immediately adjacent to The Pond's temporary site, Geiger told residents asking why the rink was not placed at the Field of Dreams.

Failure of the city's local option tax in November has complicated expansion plans at the sports complex. While it's likely the city will rerun the local option tax, the Ponderay mayor said no decisions have been made and, that in order to get the rink open sooner rather than later, the decision was made to install the rink at the temporary Kootenai Cutoff site.

Ponderay Planning and Zoning Director KayLeigh Miller said the city has shifted different skating sessions around to ensure skaters from one session are off the ice in time for those from the next session due to the popularity of the evening sessions. Weekday sessions should be earlier with only weekend sessions for drop-in hockey slated to run from 8:30 to 10 p.m.

While concerned about the noise, the residents said they like the idea of the ice rink and love how the city and NIICE came together to make The Pond a reality. Geiger said city officials appreciated them coming forward with their concerns and working with Ponderay toward a solution.

Geiger said the city would have someone stop by the rink to gauge noise levels and would explore options on how to mitigate the sound.

"We're just learning as we're stepping into this, the first ice rink in Bonner County," Geiger added. "We're not going to be perfect right out of the gate but with you coming in, sharing your concerns, we'll certainly take note of that."