By Deb Murphy

Mammoth town staff was directed to proceed on Mammoth’s Multi-Use Facility at last week’s Town Council meeting.

After years of wrangling, the ice rink, with multiple uses, in Mammoth Creek Park West may not be the mega-facility originally envisioned, but the latest iteration got a 3-2 vote and came in under the $13 million cap.

It’s a tent, technically called a tensile fabric, or sprung, structure. But it will include a lobby, bleachers, restrooms, concessions, lockers, storage, warmth and even has the potential to include a mezzanine to maximize seating.

The Town’s engineering manager Haislip Hays made the presentation, including conceptual illustrations of the finished product. The project could, potentially, be under construction by next spring.

The sprung structure got decent reviews during the public comment period. While the consensus was the concept wasn’t perfect, people were just tired of talking about it.

Resident Sandy Hogan wanted funds to go toward housing first. Former councilmember Colin Fernie thought a sprung structure was “beneath us,” but it did meet programming needs.

During Council discussion, Mayor Cleland Hoff appeared to agree with Fernie in terms of the aesthetics. Kirk Stapp supported the concept but wanted to hold off on a vote until the Council prioritized other projects.

Councilmember John Wentworth’s comeback: “We can walk and chew gun at the same time. We need to balance our priorities.” Wentworth, Lynda Salcido and Bill Sauser gave the project the thumbs up.

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