No, in my opinion, Ice Castles is another example of mismanagement by the Dillon Town Council. There should have been some sort of revenue split (maybe 20% to 50%) between the Ice Castles company and the town of Dillon to produce a tangible benefit for the town and its residents. Instead, the Town Council hoped that the additional sales tax revenue from people visiting the ice castles would benefit the town. That additional sales tax revenue turned out to be a truly insignificant amount of money. In return, Ice Castles received a very favorable water rate (well below what we all pay), badly damaged the Town Park and made between $2 million and $3 million each winter with zero benefit to the town of Dillon and its residents. It was a very one-sided deal, in my opinion.

— Dana Christiansen

At this point in time, my answer is no. We are improving our Town Park, and we need to focus on getting this accomplished. Initially, I thought Ice Castles created a destination for Dillon in the winter, but after hearing from the residents and community and after discussions with the company, I realized this was not the best plan of action. I know it was important to businesses driving visitors to town, but there were too many problems and issues that couldn’t be addressed.

However, I do believe that we need to find other events for locals and to bring visitors to the town. One example that we did recently was we created ice rinks on the lake. Pond hockey and Summit Youth Hockey just had their tournaments here. This was a huge success. This didn’t disturb the residents, and it brought vibrancy to the town. When something doesn’t work, I believe in finding solutions that will benefit as many people as possible.

— Renee Imamura

I don’t believe Ice Castles should return to Dillon. Plain and simple, the only people that made any money was Ice Castles. It may have promised lots of revenue for the town, but we all know that didn’t happen. And the damage it caused to our park is actually costing the town more in repairs. There are other ways to bring events to Dillon, as evidenced by the current ice rink and just completed pond hockey tournaments on the lake.

Creating more small business opportunities for shops and restaurants in town will keep the event attendees in town once the events are over, and give local residents reason to come out and patronize them. This will enhance our sense of community in the town core and could draw residents closer together as a town.

— Tony Scalise

Ice Castles was great for local businesses and tourists but tough on locals and on the park itself. Ice Castles helped us realize that Dillon could be a winter destination, and the current council and town staff envisioned the very popular recreational lake loops and hosted the recent pond hockey tournaments, with more winter events in the works.

These new activities strike a balance between supporting local businesses while also fostering local recreational and community-building options. If it was possible to have Ice Castles in a location with less impact on the park and locals, I would be open to it, but I would prefer to focus on our town events that locals are excited about, like the lake loops and hockey events.

— Jen Barchers

I believe this question is moot because I don’t think Ice Castles is interested in returning to Summit County after leaving Dillon and being unable to secure a location with the town of Silverthorne.

I personally liked Ice Castles. It provided a stream of revenue to local businesses that would not otherwise have been available and acted as a marquis attraction for Dillon, gaining the town some national prominence. Nonetheless, I understand concerns of individuals in the town center who were perturbed with traffic, parking, noise and park damage.

More practically, I don’t know where Ice Castles would set up. If the town were to begin the Town Park Phase 1 Master Plan in earnest this coming spring, space for Ice Castles would be eliminated, and I am not sure where else the town could host them.

— Mark Cribbet

Three seats are up for election on Dillon Town Council. Read more candidate Q&As at SummitDaily.com/election.