Tupancy gives Ice $400K
by Chris Warner

The island edged one step closer to building its own ice rink this week as the Tupancy-Harris Foundation pledged $400,000 to the project, the largest single donation to date.

  The foundation's gift totals $500,000 when added to its 1997 pledge of $100,000, according to officials at Nantucket Ice, which was formed four years ago to build an ice-skating rink and recreation center on the island.

The group has raised #3.4 million thus far toward the $5 million project. The proposed 25,000 square-foot ice surface, bleachers for 500 and a snack bar. The building will be located on the northeast side of the elementary school off Surf side Road.

Nantucket Ice hopes to break ground on the construction project- which is expected to take a year in-September, President Bambi Mleczko said.

Gifts like those from the Tupancy-Harris Foundation help the cause in many ways, she added.

"There are still skeptics out there, unfortunately, and I think they need to know that this rink is going to be built," Mleczko said. "This gift is great, because it gives us credibility with the naysayers."

Originally estimated at $3.8 million, the price tag rose to $5 million due to planning changes, required road improvements and inflation, Nantucket Ice officials said.

Nantucket Ice's dream of on-island skating took a major step toward reality after the Historic District Commission (HDC) approved the building's design in March.

The group now seeks Major Commercial Development approval from the Planning Board. If that happens, and if it can raise the remaining $1.6 million, members hope to break ground in September.

The Tupancy-Harris foundation was created by islander Oswald Tupancy, who died in 1987. The foundation helps tax-exempt organizations which benefit Nantucket. Last year alone, Tupancy-Harris came to the aid of 25 various island groups.

"What particularly was important to us early-on was the seemingly wide support from the community as a whole," said Bob Karlitz, the vice president of the fiduciary trust company which handles the foundation. "It seems as though there was a need for this."

Nantucket Ice and Tupancy-Harris have kept constant contact since Ice members first approached the foundation in 1997 and received the initial $100,000 pledge.

Nantucket have shown their support by donating $18,000 in response to a March mailing on the island. Mleczko said that the amounts varied from $25 to $5,000.

"When you get closer, when the money gets smaller, it becomes more doable for everybody," Mleczko said. "It seems more palatable, and this is our last push, to