Letter from Five Flags Civic Center Fund Exec Committee on Ice-Skating Facility_09.14.73September 14, 1973
Honorable Mayor and Members of
City Council
City of Dubuque
Dubuque, Iowa
Gentlemerr:
On July 30, 1973 during our presentation to your group on the current
status of the Five Flags Center Fund Project, several Councilmen
suggested that appropriate consideration be given to include an ice-
skating facility within the proposed Exhibition -Arts portion of the
project.
The project architects -engineers at our direction have studied this
proposal, and they have provided the Five Flags Center Fund Execu-
tive Committee data as to space, cost and the effect of providing
such a facility within the project on the total project. The matter
has also been discussed with the Planning, Redevelopment and Rec-
reation Directors of the City of Dubuque to ascertain their opinions,
individually and collectively, as to the suitability of such use in
this specific area. Additionally, the Executive Committee has met
with the Dubuque Recreation Commission at a public meeting to ful-
ly explore this proposition.
The Executive Committee of the Five Flags Center Fund has thor-
oughly discussed this proposal in depth at several meetings, and
has considered your suggestion together with the recommendations
of the architects -engineers, the City's professional staff and the
Dubuque Recreation Commission. It is our opinion that the inclu-
sion of an ice-skating facility within the total project is not feasi-
ble, and that it would not be in the best Interests of the City of
Dubuque and the Five Flags Center. This determination conforms
with the findings of a similar study conducted by the Five Flags
Executive Committee in 1970 in developing uses appropriate for the
Five Flags Center Project. The original study concluded that active
256 West Tenth . Dubuque, Iowa 52001 . 582-7224
\ Honorable Mayor and Members of
City Council
Page 2
recreational uses within the center would not be compatible with the
passive recreational and entertainment uses, and other community
needs to be met in the total project due to the limited size of the site,
the prime objective of the project and the resources anticipated to be
available for such an undertaking.
Introducing an active recreational use in the Exhibition -Arts Building
such as ad ice-skating facility would create scheduling difficulties
which would seriously hamper the effective use of the total facility
for all the projected activities. The inclusion of an ice-skating fa-
cility would require a larger physical plant and would necessitate
using a large portion of the land earmarked for parking fronting on
Locust Street for building purposes. The introduction of the ice-skat-
ing use would create additional parking and traffic needs far beyond
that which could be satisfactorily handled on the site or on the imme-
diate streets.
We must also concur with the Recreation Commission that such a use
in the Five Flags Center may jeopardize their overall plan to provide
both ice-skating and indoor -outdoor swimming pool facilities in a
more appropriate location within the City. The Executive Committee
of the Five Flags Center Fund recognizes -and endorses the need for
ice-skating facilities, and wholeheartedly supports the plans of the
Dubuque Recreation Commission to respond to this need.
Your suggestion was very much appreciated, and we trust that we
have responded in a satisfactory manner. Please be aware of our to-
tal concern that the Five Flags Center Project be developed in a man-
ner that is in harmony with the City's overall goals to provide outlets
for the leisure time and cultural needs and demands of our residents.
Respectfully yours,
Wayne A. Norman
General Chairman
WAN/GMW/vt