Fall greetings to the Mankato Curling Club,
I hope everyone is ready for curling season to begin again! This is the time of year when we all get busy with winter preparations around the house and setting plans for the upcoming holiday season. It is also the time of year when you get this letter from your Club President asking you to make your curling plans as well. Please contact your team members and discuss the leagues, the bonspiels, and all the activities you want to participate in. It is never too soon to plan to go CURLING!!
I'm sure that many of you have heard about some changes going on with the Club building. For both those of you that have heard and those of you that have not, I will try to give a brief recap. As most of you know, we have been in discussions with the City of Mankato about concerns with the facility where we curl. The effort was started because your Board of Directors recognized that we had to build a better relationship with the City of Mankato since our building is city owned. The most obvious of those concerns were regarding the leaky roof. After over two years of working with the City, a new roof was installed this past summer. This should be a huge improvement to our overall curling experience.
A result that we did not expect, however, was that our interaction with the City would lead the city management to take a very large interest in upgrading the structure so that it could accommodate other public activities. Consequently, extensive work has been done to the interior and exterior of the building to make it ADA accessible. Has this changed some things for us? The answer is yes, but there are some additional benefits we will get to enjoy from the City's remodel too. One big item is new lighting, both on the rink and in the Club area. They asked for our input to make sure that the lumen intensity would be improved and brightness would be more consistent for curling. In addition, there is a new handicap bathroom, a new front door (with vestibule if it gets completed), and several other smaller changes. While changes are not always positive for everyone, I see increased use of the building as a huge positive for our Club's future. How will any person that comes to an activity being held in the building not be curious about and want to investigate what the Mankato Curling Club has going on there during the winter months? We will make sure that promotional materials are well displayed during our off season.
We have also faced some negative circumstances. Our lease was legally challenged to the extent of identifying exactly what the City was obligated to provide. With the very kind assistance of Mr. Dick Corcoran as our legal council, we did protect the general integrity of our lease so we have a curling home for the balance of the lease term. We did have to accept, however, that certain expenses are not technically covered by the lease's language. I regret to say that this will result in a larger dues increase than we would normally consider. Rather than trying to explain everything in this letter, I will be posting all the pertinent documents and correspondence on the bulletin board for your examination. The new dues statement will be sent out soon and I will also schedule a meeting time during our early season to describe the course of events and try to answer any questions you have as concerned members.
And now for the biggest and still ongoing challenge. The Board had been advised of and had budgeted for a needed maintenance overhaul of our compressor. After that work was completed, Scott Burrows with Burrows Refrigeration removed the end cover on our condenser unit to inspect the coolant pipes. He discovered extensive corrosion that, if not corrected, would result in a serious ammonia leak. To further complicate matters, parts for repair are no longer available. He recommended that we install an evaporative style outdoor condenser. These units are quite expensive but we were lucky to locate a used unit in good condition. The current problem is that with the late date when we were advised of the problem, we are scrambling to get this unit installed and operational. I do not know as of this writing when the work will get done, but will try to keep everyone advised. In the meanwhile, let Todd Birr know about your early league plans so that once we get the ice in the league will be organized and ready. The Board is also aware that the Juniors program is scheduled to start on the ice on November 7th . With luck, it will only delay us slightly.
We do really need to get things going as we have many things scheduled. In addition to our regular bonspiel schedule, we will be hosting a Junior Bonspiel of our own on December 11th thru the 13th as a warm up for hosting the Minnesota State Junior Bonspiel December 26 – 29. Thank you to Roxanne Deegan and Shawn Runing for their initiative on both of those events. Shortly thereafter on January 6th through the 9th we are hosting the Midwest South Men's Nationals Qualifying Round. Our leagues will be delayed one extra week to accommodate this competitive curling event.
Our regular leagues will start Sunday, January 10th. You can get ready for leagues by coming out to watch and volunteer at the Qualifying Round! In addition to our normal league schedule, we are hopeful for filling a Tuesday night league this season, starting at 7:30 PM (after Juniors), since our membership has been growing in both numbers and participation. If you have thoughts on the focus for that new league, contact a Board member with your idea. We would love to have a women's, seniors or stick league. Any other thoughts?
Club Setup: Wednesday, October 29th and Thursday, October 30th if necessary, starting at 6:30 PM. Rink Preparation: Nicki Merrifield will advise. Please consider offering your time for Club setup. We will probably need a few extra hands to clean and set things up this year due to the construction. Thank you all in advance for your help now and throughout the season.
Finally, I want to thank the Club Board for all the extra time and hard work they have put in this summer. They have had to meet some tough challenges this year and the Club can be very proud of them.
Respectfully submitted,
Gary Berger, Club President
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