Outside Section 46

Long-Term Leases to Operate Public Skating Rinks

SECTION 46.   Notwithstanding sections 40E to 40K and 52 to 55 of chapter 7 of the General Laws, the division of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation, may lease and enter into agreements, using a competitive proposal process or processes that the division considers necessary or appropriate, for terms not to exceed 25 years, to 1 or more operators, for 1 or more skating rinks, so as to provide for the continued use, operation, maintenance, repair, and improvement of the following state-owned buildings and facilities together with the associated land and appurtenances formerly under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan district commission: Bajko memorial rink, Hyde Park district, Boston; Connell memorial rink, Weymouth; Devine memorial rink, Dorchester district, Boston; Emmons Horrigan O'Neill memorial rink, Charlestown district, Boston; Flynn memorial rink, Medford; Jim Roche memorial rink, West Roxbury district, Boston; LoConte memorial rink, Medford; Murphy memorial rink, South Boston district, Boston; Reilly memorial rink, Brighton district, Boston; Shea memorial rink, Quincy; Steriti memorial rink, Boston; Veterans Memorial Rink, Somerville; and, Ulin memorial rink, Milton.

The leases and other agreements shall be on terms acceptable to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, after consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation, and, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, shall provide for the lessees to operate, manage, improve, repair, and maintain the properties, and may provide for the department to make initial capital improvements or direct grant funds to the lessee to undertake initial capital improvements at 1 or more of the properties that the commissioner of the department determines to be necessary due to the structural condition of any of the properties. Any leases or other arrangements requiring improvements to be made to any buildings may include a description of the initially-required improvements and, at minimum, performance specifications. Ice time at rinks under the jurisdiction of the division of urban parks and recreation shall be allocated to user groups in the following priority order: general public skating; youth groups; high school hockey; and adult organizations or informal groups. Ice time may be allocated at the discretion of the operator with the following restrictions: general public skating shall be booked at a minimum of 16 hours per week, with a range of times and days which reasonably allow for public skaters of all ages to participate in some public skating sessions. Every effort shall be made to balance the ice allocation needs of long-established youth organizations and newly-formed youth organizations in a manner that provides equal opportunity and equal access for youths of each gender. Leases and other agreements authorized in this section shall provide that any benefits to the communities and the costs of improvements and repairs made to the properties provided by the lessees or the recipients of the properties shall be taken into account as part of the consideration for the leases or other agreements. All consideration received from the leases or other agreements shall be payable to the department of conservation and recreation for deposit into the Division of Urban Parks Trust Fund under section 34 of chapter 92 of the General Laws; provided that any consideration received for the Jim Roche Memorial Rink shall be payable to the department for deposit into the Roche Community Rink Fund under section 2NNN of chapter 29 of the General Laws. The lessees or the recipients of these properties shall bear all costs considered necessary or appropriate by the commissioner of conservation and recreation for the transactions including, without limitation, all costs for legal work, survey, title, and the preparation of plans and specifications.

The department may consider payments made by a lessee at the Connell Rink as private matching funds for the purposes of item 2800-0105 of section 2E of chapter 352 of the acts of 2004.
 
 

Summary:
This section allows the remaining DCR skating rinks to be leased to private entities, which would manage the general operations for those rinks.