Though rink rental rates were “all across the board” in surrounding communities, an apples-to-apples comparison was all but impossible for a consultant hired by the town to assess the appropriateness of rates set by the Select Board.
“We received a lot of feedback on the rink rates when we put them into place,” Town Administrator Patrice Garvin explained Monday night. “We thought a third-party conversation would be helpful to explain to you all in the community that there’s a method to this and there are reasons why rates are set the way they were. We wanted to make sure we were in line [with other communities].”
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As of December, the rink rental rates, which are now available online, range from $225 to $365 for 50 minutes on Monday through Friday, with the highest rate for ice time between noon and 9 p.m. Weekend rates range from $300 to $380 for 60 minutes, with the highest rate between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Public skate is available at certain times during the week for a cost of $7 for seniors and guests 18 and younger, and $10 for adults. Skate rental is available for an additional $5.
According to consultant David Fox of Raftelis, a consulting agency for municipal governments, some rinks used for comparison are entirely subsidized by the municipality’s general fund, while others cover their own cost through operations. Some rinks are new, whereas others have been in operation for years. Some charge their local school district for ice time; others do not.
“However, the rates of the town of Belmont are well within the range of what we saw,” Fox said. “It’s higher than some, and the ones it’s higher than, we saw there was a heavy, heavy subsidy from the general fund or some outside fund, or not covering its costs to any sort of degree.”
In the absence of historical data for the Belmont rink — from expenses to demand — Fox advised maintaining the current peak season rates and waiting until later in 2026 for a more accurate and robust cost analysis. At that point, adjustments can be made as necessary, he said.
“With such a new entity like the ice rink, we just don’t have that data at our fingertips to do what we can do with water [rates], for example,” said Fox.
According to Garvin, the rink is partly funded through the operating budget and partly through fees.
“Right now, the revolving fund is $28,000 that we’ve been able to collect since we started charging some for the renters,” she said. “The school takes about 20% of our operations and rink time rentals, and they don’t pay the fee, so we also have to consider making up for that loss of revenue.”
Additionally, she said, the operating budget, which is about $300,000, allows for two full-time employees. If another full-timer is needed, the cost will come from that budget as well.
There are still some unknowns, she said, including electrical costs and how solar panels on the roof will impact the budget.
“There are so many unknowns and we just finished one full month of operations,” she said.
Select Board Vice Chair Taylor Yates said while the rink campaign never promised the rink would break even, it also never promised it would be a “white elephant.”
“The onus is on us … to be fiscally responsible,” Yates said. “That is now our job to voters … to make sure this rink is minimally impacting the town’s finances.”
The goal is to put less pressure on the operating budget and be as “revenue neutral as possible,” according to Garvin.
“This is a challenge, for sure,” she said. “One of the things we wanted to do was lower the rates in the spring, but based on what Dave was just giving us—what we really didn’t want to hear—was we have no way of knowing where we’re going to land.”
