Board Told To Sell Houghton County Arena

Should Houghton County sell the Houghton County Arena?

The suggestion was given to the county board of commissioners at their March meeting Tuesday by Calumet Township Supervisor Paul Lehto.

Lehto said the county should get out of the ice rink business and sell the arena to the city of Hancock, Finlandia University or other interested party for a $1.00.

Calumet Township owns and operates the Calumet Colosseum.

Commissioner Tim Palosaari expressed interest in looking into the idea, noting residents in outlying areas don’t like to see their tax dollars spent on an arena in Hancock.

Commissioner Scott Ala spoke in favor of the county retaining the arena and recognized the Portage Lake Multi-Ed for their fundraising efforts for many of the improvements needed at the arena.

The board took no official action on the suggestion at the meeting.

Bids for the roof replacement and the sand blasting of the steel beams at the Houghton County Arena have been received.

The roof replacement bid came in under budget but the sand blasting to remove the paint from the structure came in just slightly above.

The county board of commissioners approved accepting the bids contingent upon the sand blasting bid being lowered enough for the total project to fall below the $518,500 that has been budgeted.

More Houghton County Arena new–the county board of commissioners agreed to accept the Passport Grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The grant is for $45,000 and will be matched by money raised by the Portage Lake Multi-Ed, who manages the facility.

The funds will be used for new bleachers.