A four-foot flywheel in a rooftop dehumidifier has been identified as the cause of a series of failures that have closed the rink for the past week.
According to rink building committee Chair Mark Haley, a temporary dehumidifier will be brought in this week, allowing the rink to reopen while the main unit is repaired. Haley said the unit should be delivered Wednesday, with an eye on reopening a day or two later.
The unit in question has three components, called cores, Haley said. One is a compressor, one is a hot-water source, and the third is a dehumidifier. In the winter, the hot water core failed and was replaced by the manufacturer.
The dehumidifier malfunction kept tripping the facility’s electrical breaker and shutting off the power. That allowed the moisture to condense on the ceiling, which then fell as indoor rain, rendering the ice unsafe.
The technician from NovelAire was called in to suss out the issue and arrived on Tuesday.
“There are only two of them [technicians] in the entire North American continent,” Haley said.
The equipment was installed by N.B. Kenney. Technicians from that company had tried to solve the problem without success.
“The rink’s humidity issue is an atmospheric condition impacting the ice, rather than a comfort condition for visitors,” said Belmont Facilities Director David Blazon. “Water droplets are falling onto the ice and freezing, which prevents it from being smooth.”
Blazon added that the roof-mounted dehumidifier is designed specifically for ice rinks and is not something found in regular building projects.
On Friday, July 17, the building committee held an emergency meeting to map out a strategy to address the persistent problem.
“Every building has teething problems,” said Select Board Chair Taylor Yates. “But this is having a considerable financial impact.”
That financial hit comes from lost rental revenue.
According to Assistant Town Administrator Matt Haskell, the town will have lost $22,000 due to humidity-related cancellations by the end of Tuesday.
The town is looking into ways to recoup some or all of that money, Haskell said.
The rink first closed due to humidity during the stretch of 100-degree weather in late June. It reopened July 1. At a select board meeting Monday night, it was emphasized the issue was equipment-related, not due to the weather.
The rink first opened in November 2025, with the grand opening on Nov. 15. It replaced the previous town skating rink, which had decayed to the point of being unsafe.
Belmont residents first approved a $29.9 million debt exclusion in 2023. In June 2024, Town Meeting approved an additional $1.5 million to cover a budget shortfall. The state kicked in an additional $730,000, bringing the final cost to around $32 million.
The sports complex features bleacher seating for 208, plus five accessible seating options. It also includes a community room for birthday parties or film screenings, four dedicated locker rooms for Belmont High teams, each with 25 lockers, and four dressing rooms for both home and away teams. Locker rooms will be available for additional sports teams.
