Dear Editor:
I wold like to address the points Tom Troyer raised in his recent letter to the editor from the perspective of the Westfield High School Ice Hockey Association (WHSIHA) regarding the amicable settlement we reached last month with Secaucus.
Mother Nature and the fact that ice rinks are paid their rent in advance of the ice being used caused the problem. The winter of 2001-2002 was unseasonably warm, and on a number of days the rink was unplayable.
I understand the agreement was worked out by our previous head coach and the rink manager, individuals who have known each other a long time and whose word is their bond. Since New Jersey had not experienced unusually warm winters in awhile, these individuals most likely did not address how to address the situation in advance. This is understandable as last December we faced a similar situation with our new rink and had to address this contingency in our new contract.
The matter took time to resolve as there was no contract, and it took me until this spring to obtain from our Board of Education the records needed to validate our request. Secaucus then asked for additional documentation. It took about another month to obtain and provide the additional requested information.
I attended the June council meeting as I mistakenly thought that the Town Council would not meet again until September and our organization needed to finalize our budget, since the organization is responsible for over 90 percent of our funding for this season.
After the meeting Mr. Iacono contacted me earlier than Mayor Elwell mentioned he would. He also worked on behalf of the Town Council with the WHSIHA and me to resolve this matter, which we were able to do successfully on July 22.
I offered to attend a September meeting to publicly thank the Council as I could not attend a meeting prior to August 26 as our team had hockey practice every Tuesday night this summer. I was told this was unnecessary.
I trust this answers all the questions. Upon reflection if I understood the Town Council schedule this could have been resolved privately. I wish everyone continued success.
Tom Madaras
Treasurer
Westfield High School Ice Hockey Association