Update: Mid-Hudson Civic Center President Danielle Anderson has responded to the petition.

A new petition seeks a public hearing as to the state of the non-profit Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie.

County Legislator Joel Tyner and author Joanne Michaels are behind the petition to determine if then-presidential candidate Donald Trump was given preferential treatment while members of the local community have seen prices for ice time skyrocket.

President Trump held a rally at the Mid Hudson Civic Center on April 17, 2016. There is some question as to whether his campaign paid for the event. County Legislator Joel Tyner had this to say, '“If a receipt exists for the Trump campaign’s use of MHCC in 2016 then why has the management there avoided sharing that receipt for the last two years?”

There is also some question as to why the figure skating program has been decimated. What once was a 38-member club is down to 14 people.

According to the account of parents involved with the program, MHCC manager Danielle Anderson offered an unlimited skating program for an additional $1,000 fee only to cut their time after payments were made.

Reportedly, there have been some issues with the refrigeration unit that keeps the ice frozen which could explain the extra fees but no information could be found on the state of the unit.

Letters and emails sent to the Civic Center as far back as June of 2017 have not been responded to, according to the petition. The state of the marquee along the arterial is an embarrassment. (Full disclosure: the marquee once featured Townsquare Media of the Hudson Valley station WPDH's logo.) What once advertised the events coming to the area, has sat in disrepair for more than a year.

The following is a letter sent to the Dutchess County Legislature by Ms. Michaels on Jan. 6. She has yet to receive a response.