Lebanon
The board, which began its rehearing of the rink expansion in July, is likely to take a final vote at its Dec. 19 meeting, according to city Zoning Administrator Tim Corwin.
“The primary issue of discussion (on Monday) was related to what the hours of operation should be,” Corwin said on Wednesday. “Based on the discussion from the hearing, it appears they were more or less in favor of approving the hours as requested.”
A disagreement over operating hours kicked off the rehearing process this summer, when officials said hours approved earlier by the Zoning Board were too constrained.
Instead of year-round operation, the rink proposed opening from 6 a.m. to midnight from mid-October to mid-April. The proposal also asked that the rink stay open until 11 p.m. during other seasons, and close completely in the summer.
The proposed hours, which would keep the rink open later, are necessary to provide much needed ice time in the Upper Valley, while also keeping the rink financially viable, according to officials.
As a concession, rink staffers would ask people to park away from neighbors after 8 p.m. The rink also signed agreements with several abutters agreeing to take further actions to protect their property from increased traffic.
Board member Dan Nash said there was also talk during the meeting of possible traffic issues. In October, fellow member Al Patterson questioned a traffic report commissioned by the rink, saying it underestimated speeding on Route 10 and the reduced sight lines from vegetation surrounding the rink.
As a result, the board asked City Engineer Christina Hall to review the study.
She visited the site and found people could “easily see beyond 485 feet of distance from the edge of the right travel lane and beyond 500 feet in the center of the oncoming traffic.”
“My observations are consistent with (the consultant’s) conclusion with respect to sight distance and, therefore, I do not have any concerns at this time,” Hall wrote to the board.
Patterson declined to comment on the meeting when reached on Wednesday.
Nash said members were content with the review on Monday, and said the state Department of Transportation and Planning Board will also have to review traffic before the project can move forward.
Corwin, the zoning administrator, said he will prepare a draft decision for the board to review at its Dec. 19 meeting, and he expects a vote will be taken then.
“There’s still several opportunities for the pubic to participate and provide comments,” he said, adding that the expansion will go before the Planning Board before construction.
“As always, we encourage the public to come out and be a part of those discussions,” Corwin said.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.