Another delay for KYRO arena

COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai Youth Recreation Organization needs to completely leave the city if it wants a permit to build a new ice arena.

Right now, a roughly half-acre parcel of property where the collapsed ice rink once stood is inside city limits, although the entire property needs to be in Kootenai County if the nonprofit wants the proper county permits to build the arena anew.

"It was human error," said Matthew Beam, KYRO manager on the cross-jurisdictional slip up. "We're still hoping we can be operational in October. We've got a lot of youth in the community and adults who are into skating, and hockey teams, chomping at the bit to get back out on the ice."

In 2006, an adjacent property was annexed into the city and the property map accidentally included the portion of KYRO's property. The mistake was noticed after KYRO attempted to get the proper permits to build its new facility after it collapsed under heavy snowfall more than a year ago.

The city's Public Works Committee recommended Monday that the city exclude the parcel that was included, so KYRO can move forward with its plans.

"It will give us the full green light to proceed with the permitting process," Beam said.

Excluding it from city property wouldn't affect KYRO's request to Coeur d'Alene's urban renewal board, Lake City Development Corp.

The board is considering funding up to $200,000 for public improvements with the arena's reconstruction.

The request will go before the City Council at 6 p.m. today in the Community Room of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.

Early facility design includes seating for up to 500 people, 200 more than the old one, and a National Hockey League-sized ice rink at 200 feet by 85 feet. It should be able to handle the more than 2,000 visitors expected to use it weekly from September through April.