Joel EngelhardtPalm Beach Gardens City Council rejection of 3-month extension puts ice rink complex in jeopardy.
The noose tightened Thursday on plans to build an ice rink complex on public land in Palm Beach Gardens.
After more than a year of public criticism over the city’s decision to lease a city park to a nonprofit group to build the two-rink complex, the City Council Thursday rejected a request to grant the group a three-month extension to finalize its financing and begin construction.
The session came without the impassioned pleas from hockey fans common to past meetings urging the city to move forward with a facility that has a commitment for a hockey school run by NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, who lives in the area.
Dozens of residents who have opposed the city’s decision to give up the 8-acre Plant Drive Park, the city’s oldest, and demolish a basketball court, softball field and skateboard park, urged the city to reject the extension.
The nonprofit Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation seemed to be blaming others for their failure to meet the deadline, said resident Rebecca McKeich, whose son is a regular at the free skatepark that would be demolished.
“Whose fault is it really?” McKeich asked. “If my kid waited until the last minute to start his science fair project, I wouldn’t blame the school for not giving him enough time.
“And I definitely wouldn’t expect them to delay the science fair for him.”
Project now at $53 million
Timetables presented at the meeting by PBNAF indicate the project can still meet deadlines spelled out in an April 2024 contract with the city.
But it’ll be close. Without the extension, they’ll need every bit of the contract’s 30-day grace period, giving them until Aug. 2.
PBNAF founder and CEO Mike Winter left the meeting without addressing the council’s unanimous decision and did not comment on Friday.
His consultants told the council that they’ve already spent $2.6 million on designs, consultants and legal fees and have mobilized builders and construction materials to be ready to start construction quickly.
But first they must line up financing to offset donations for what their figures showed now to be a $53 million project, up from $40 million.
They said they have $12 million in pledges, including $10 million from billionaire hedge fund manager and hockey enthusiast Larry Robbins, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens. Of that amount, they said, just $2 million is in the bank.
Robbins also has agreed to loan PBNAF $12 million that the nonprofit hopes to pay off with donations received once construction has begun.
To finance the rest, $29 million, PBNAF plans to issue tax-exempt bonds. At a 5.59 percent interest rate, the nonprofit will shave 1.44 percentage points off conventional financing, a savings of $417,000 a year, they said.
To get tax-exempt status, PBNAF would seek a resolution of support from a different public body, the Florida Local Government Finance Commission. A public hearing could take place in late June, with bond closing the week of July 28, they said.
After receiving City Council approval of the complex’ site plan on Jan. 9, it took two months to finalize the budget and distribute a financing offering memo to prospective investors, the consultants said.
They agreed on May 19 to a term sheet with a nationally known bank they said they could not identify because of confidentiality rules.
Once their own board approved it, they asked the city on May 22 for an extension of the July 3 deadline in their original contract to Oct. 3. They would go into default if they miss the July 3 deadline but the contract gives them 30 days to cure the problem.
“We think that we can get under the wire by the end of July to secure the financing,” said John Bizanes, the group’s lawyer from Nason Yeager. “But rather than try to ask for an extension after an issue has already been created and we hadn’t met that timeline, we thought in an abundance of caution we would seek this extension ahead of time.”
‘Deadlines are set for a reason’
Council Member John Kemp, a council newcomer not present for earlier votes on the ice rink, established the tone for the council’s response, when he said, quoting an email from resident Vicki Camen, “Deadlines are set for a reason, and they must be upheld to maintain accountability and the public’s trust.”
“I hate to tell you but I’ve lost faith in this organization,” Kemp said. “I say if you’re so confident that you’re going to get this financing that you guys should be taking the risk. Not this council. Not this city.”
With Mayor Marcie Tinsley recused because of her husband’s ties to one of the consultants working with the nonprofit group, it would still require a second council vote to reject the extension.
But both Chelsea Reed and Vice Mayor Dana Middleton quickly joined with Kemp, at times citing arguments made in the many emails sent to them by residents upset over the loss of the park.
The proposal for Plant Drive Park came after the city canceled a lease in November 2022 with PBNAF to build the rink at the Gardens North County District Park. City Manager Ron Ferris told the council at the time that PBNAF had failed to meet four financial milestones.
“We’re here again and the only difference between where we are right now and where we were with the first design is that you guys just got further down the road this time,” Reed said.
“There is a theme here with my colleagues,” Middleton said. “The ‘Jerry Maguire,’ ‘show me the money’ — show us the money.”
“We have been through so much with this organization,” she continued. “It looks fantastic but (I’m) really disappointed that we’re here today and that we have to go through this.
“When you work with our city we expect excellence and focus. The ball was dropped. And I’m not happy.”
Joel is a founder, reporter and editor at Stet News. His award-winning newspaper career spanned more than 40 years, including 28 years at The Palm Beach Post, which he left in 2020. Joel lives with his wife in Palm Beach Gardens. He volunteers on the board of NAMI Palm Beach County and the Palm Beach Gardens Historical Society.
