I’m surprised the cost isn’t shared more equitably.”

Director Mark Zuzek

The hiring environment for law enforcement is really bad.”

Police Chief Dave Wilske

Representatives of ISD 200 continue to chafe against the potential rate increase for civic arena ice time in ongoing discussions with city officials.
In particular, school board members protested the school district being singled out for rate increases, a move Clerk Melissa Millner called “vindictive.”
The Joint Powers Agreement meeting last Monday between district officials, city council members and city staff was dominated by discussions of the potential ice rate increases at the Hastings Civic Arena.
The city unveiled the rate increase in July which would raise “prime” ice rates for all users to $270 per hour, with an additional $55 per hour for the school district. Prime ice rates are from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
These rate increases come due to the recent $5.3 million project for a new refrigeration unit and repairs to the civic arena’s roof.
In August 2024, the school board unanimously voted to not pay for a proposed 30% of the project citing issues of the timing of the request and taking issue with the district paying for the maintenance of the facility, rather than the construction of a new one.
The 30% figure, according to city staff, comes on the precedent of a long standing “handshake agreement” between the city and school district where costs of mutually beneficial construction projects would be split 70/30 between the city and school district.
According to City Administrator Dan Wietecha at the July 7 city council meeting, the increases on all prime ice users and the additional fee for the district would raise “pretty close to that 30% figure.”
“The 30% is irrelevant in my mind,” said Tate at the Joint Powers Agreement meeting, citing that the joint powers agreement allows a “case-by-case” basis for each project and therefore the expectation of cost sharing shouldn’t be assumed.
“I fully expected our rates to go up, but not the district rates to go up exorbitantly,” said Tate.
The specific rate increase for the district, which is not a majority user of civic arena ice time, was a particular issue for school board members.
“I can palette it if you raise it for everybody,” said Millner.
“I’m surprised the cost isn’t shared more equitably,” said Director Mark Zuzek.
According to Wietecha, spreading the cost of the project across all users was discussed by the city council and city staff, but “there’s definitely some pieces that do justify having the different rate from every other user” for the school district.
Both sides expressed frustration with the ongoing discussions for the project, with Wietecha coming before the school board to ask for funds nearly a year ago, with the civic arena project starting before that.
“Let’s figure something out and move on,” said Councilor DawnMarie Vihrachoff.
The city and district failing to come to an agreement on a civic arena contract would force Hastings hockey to play at a different arena outside of the city.
“I don’t think anyone around this table wants that to happen,” said Vihrachoff.
Despite the hour-long conversation, no decision was made regarding the ice time.
“I sincerely request that you reconsider,” said Tate.

School Resource Officer
Officer James Domeier, the second school resource officer (SRO) for the district, is expected to be delayed from starting the role due to an officer leaving the department and an unanticipated retirement at the end of the year.
Currently, Officer Domeier is expected to be in the SRO position for the first two weeks of the school year before returning to regular police work until the two expected vacancies are filled.
“Unfortunately, 911 response is our priority,” said Hastings Police Chief Dave Wilske.
Hastings Police Department only recently became fully staffed and has had difficulty hiring in recent years.
“The hiring environment for law enforcement is really bad,” said Wilske.
Wilske expected Office Domeier to return to the SRO position full-time early next year.