The Auburn Township Board of Zoning Appeals approved last week a request to continue a conditional use permit for a local ice rink that was recently sold to new owners.
The Auburn Township Board of Zoning Appeals approved last week a request to continue a conditional use permit for a local ice rink that was recently sold to new owners.
The BZA approved Jan. 8 retaining most of the conditional use provisions for The Pond ice rink, 9999 Washington St., after new owners Elisa and Jim Nash asked for what amounted to a transfer of the previous agreement with former owners Scot Lowry and Kevin Shaw.
The Nashes said they took ownership last week.
Lowry told BZA members the couple had managed the rink since he purchased it in 2006.
The business is unique because it has three separate ownerships, including the land, the business and two wind turbines that supply the rink with electricity, said BZA Chairman Brian Stewart.
As the discussion began, Lowry requested the board order Auburn residents Thomas and Diane Jones to turn off their video equipment.
The Joneses frequently record public meetings in the area, including Auburn and Chester townships, and put their digital recordings on the Internet.
“Can I have the camera turned off, please?” Lowry asked, adding he prefers not to be recorded, either audially or visually.
“This is a public meeting,” Diane Jones protested.
Her husband said the camera, at the rear of the room, was pointed at the board, not at Lowry.
Stewart asked the couple to turn off the camera. Thomas Jones said he did, but Stewart also asked him to turn the camera away from the board.
Diane Jones, laughing, asked Lowry, “We can take notes, can’t we?”
Lowry replied, “My business is with this board.”
Lowry said the wind turbines, which have been turning since September, provide 25 percent to 30 percent of the rink’s electrical needs.
He explained the business is set up in three parts because of requirements for the energy grant he received to erect the turbines.
Lowry told BZA members he decided to sell the business to the Nashes because he was too busy to put a lot of time into it.
“Our reasons for selling it is that it gives the best outcome for the business,” Lowry said. “Elisa’s been running it for the last seven years and it’s time to make it official.”
Jim Nash said he and his wife live nearby, so they have a vested interest in making the rink successful.
Seth Taylor, whose property abuts The Pond, said the rink has been a good neighbor since Lowry took ownership, but the turbines make some noise that he can hear from inside his home.
“The turbines squeak quite a bit, which is a concern to us,” Taylor said. “Our biggest concern is the noise. My daughter actually works there (The Pond) right now.”
Taylor described the noise as a vibrating squeaking sound.
“It’s a very loud vibration for about 10 seconds, not continuous, like a truck going down the street,” Taylor said. “It’s intermittent.”
Auburn Township Fire Chief John Phillips said he believes the noise occurs when the blades change directions.
Lowry promised to have maintenance performed that should eliminate the noise.
Township Zoning Inspector Frank Kitko said he has had no complaints about the turbines, which he said are much quieter than the turbine at nearby Kenston High School.
He added The Pond has a list of 20 conditions that it needs to meet.
Board members reviewed each condition, and eliminated four because they applied to the turbines’ construction, which was completed last year.
BZA member Lew Tomsic questioned whether the $15,000-per-tower bond for the towers was enough, if, hypothetically, the business is ever abandoned and the township has to demolish them.
Board members said they would research the issue and address it when the conditional use comes under review in a year.
They passed the request unanimously.
