pWATERTOWN — With the hopes a vendor will come forward, City Council members decided Tuesday night not to spend at least $150,000 to make additional improvements to the Watertown Municipal Arena’s concession stand./ppInstead, they informally agreed to bid out the concession stand as is, and hope that someone will be interested in running the arena’s snack bar in the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds./ppBefore the informal vote, Councilwoman Teresa R. Macaluso expressed frustration that council members had not made a decision on what to do with the concession stand./pp“I feel like we’re spinning our wheels,” she said./ppCouncilman Mark C. Walczyk agreed, saying that council members can “fight through a bad decision but can’t fight on no decision at all.” /ppThey had been wrangling with spending more money on the concession stand after no one submitted a bid Jan. 6 to operate the snack bar. They had been considering spending $150,000 or more on installing equipment and making some modifications so that hamburgers, french fries and possibly other hot foods could be cooked and sold there./ppIn the end, a majority of council members expressed no interest in spending more money, especially since they did not know whether a vendor will submit a bid or whether they need the additional equipment to run the concession stand./ppIt will be up to the successful vendor to decide what type of equipment will be needed, based on the menu that would be offered, they said. The successful bidder also may want to use only existing equipment./ppAfter the meeting, City Manager Sharon A. Addison said she hopes the city’s purchasing department can distribute the new bid by the end of the week. Unlike the first one, this one will not include a $950 minimum bid, which had been criticized by some potential vendors./ppAfter no one came forward to bid on the concession stand in January, some vendors told city officials that they would have been interested if they could offer an expanded menu. Since then, other potential vendors have indicated that the improvements aren’t needed./ppMayor Joseph M. Butler Jr., who has supported a more elaborate concession stand, mentioned that the city could purchase non-ventilation grillers, fryers and other equipment that would be less costly than restaurant hoods and other ventilation systems./ppMs. Addison pointed out that the city could pursue some of that kind of equipment next year if council members end up not being satisfied with how the concession stand is run this coming season./ppThe $10.6 million arena project is scheduled to be finished by March 7 and reopen soon after that. /ppCouncil members also approved temporary vendor fees that would be used until the snack bar issue is resolved. The new fees are:/ppspan class="bullet"n/span $250 for a vendor per day for a city resident./ppspan class="bullet"n/span $313 for a vendor per day for a non-city resident./ppspan class="bullet"n/span $1,000 for unlimited concession stands per day for a city resident./ppspan class="bullet"n/span $1,250 for unlimited concession stands per day for a non-city resident./ppIn other action, council members agreed to bring back a housing rehabilitation program that could be used for “zombie properties,” abandoned and vacant homes./ppThe city will work with Neighbors of Watertown and the Development Authority of the North Country on the program./ppThe city will provide houses acquired through back taxes and foreclosure, while DANC will provide about $200,000 in financing and Neighbors will complete the rehabs and sell the properties./ppThe original “NDC program” — called that because Neighbors of Watertown, DANC and the city worked together on it — resulted in rehabilitating 11 properties several years ago. /p
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