The long-awaited dek hockey rink in Memorial Park is now slated to be finished this spring.

New Kensington city officials had originally thought the rink would be open by the start of this summer, but the project was delayed because officials wanted to be sure construction wouldn't interfere with Community Days in June.

In July, city council decided to seek new bids when the low bid for the rink work came in about $170,000 over budget.

The project will convert three of the tennis courts at Memorial Park into the dek hockey rink. The city also plans to resurface and repaint the two remaining tennis courts, install new lighting and safety fencing.

The total project estimate was about $300,000.

The rink construction is being funded by a $250,000 state grant, plus council planned to use a $20,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County toward the project.

Council on Monday awarded two contracts for the projects.

TC Services of Oakmont was awarded a contract of close to $210,000 for the dek hockey rink project. The company was the original low bidder so city officials worked with them to deduct some items from the project to get it within budget, said city engineer Tony Males.

Items cut and postponed until later include construction of spectator shields for the rink and painting lines on the tennis courts, Males said.

McElroy Paving of McCandless will be paid about $112,000 to resurface the tennis courts. The surface will have a slight crown in the middle of the court so water drains to the side, rather than pooling in the center as it does now.

Federal money doled out

The city plans to use federal Community Development Block Grant funds to improve the playground next to City Hall on 11th Street.

Last month, council heard suggestions from residents on how to use the money.

“Some citizens suggested looking at the highly utilized park and playground next door to City Hall, which is used quite a bit,” Mayor Tom Guzzo said. “The redevelopment authority has (dedicated) money to make the park a safer place and spruce it up so even more people can enjoy it.

“Once the equipment is bought, perhaps we can get a group of volunteers together to spruce it up even more.”

New Kensington expects to receive about $274,000 from this year's CDBG program.

About $100,000 from the sale of a Fifth Avenue property will add to the amount available for redevelopment projects that benefit low- and moderate-income residents.

The maximum 30 percent, or about $82,000, will be used to demolish blighted buildings.

The authority plans to use 18 percent, or nearly $50,000, of the grant money for administration, which includes salaries, rent and other costs.

The remaining amount is planned for code enforcement, street improvements and park projects.

Jodi Weigand is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-226-4702 or jweigand@tribweb.com.

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