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Adjala-Tos picks up insurance so rink can go ahead

BY Matthew Talbot, Staff January 29, 2010 13:01

A private recreation and culture committee in Everett is building a new outdoor ice rink in the community, thanks to financial help from Adjala-Tosorontio.

The Everett Parks and Improvement Committee (EPIC) hopes to build the rink on an existing concrete surface at Central Park, said its chair Krista Morris-Tomini.

Morris-Tomini said it would cost about $600 for the material necessary to build boards, and volunteers would do the work.

The project was threatened, however, when EPIC was told it needed liability insurance.

Adjala-Tosorontio Public Works director Eric Wargel said volunteers working on the rink would need individual liability insurance in case anyone gets injured while using the rink.

However, Morris-Tomini said it would cost EPIC $1,100 extra to secure liability insurance for rink volunteers over what the group already pays for insurance.

EPIC, she said, is not-for-profit and doesn't have that kind of money.

"I'd hate to see a volunteer group have to put up $1,100, but I'd hate to see us put it up too," said Deputy-Mayor Doug Little.

However, the liability insurance is necessary.

Wargel said if a child is injured on the rink, EPIC volunteers could be taken to court, along with the town as a third party since the rink would be on town property.

While Little worried the town paying the $1,100 would set a precedent for other volunteer groups, council voted to reimburse the group for the cost of the liability insurance out of the parks and recreation budget.

Another option would have been to include EPIC as an official committee of council, but Wargel said he would have to check with the town's insurers about whether or not the municipal policy would cover volunteers.

Coun. Joy Webster said time was of the essence as it was already Jan. 11 and the idea of a rink came forward last February.

"Ultimately," Morris-Tomini said, "I would love to see EPIC work (as a committee of council). We are working on projects that are in the best interest of our little community."

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