I was at the City Council meeting. The baseball folks want to put in a bunch of Tee ball fields where the rink is. When asked, their rep said cheerfully that he would love to see the fields permanent, with sprinklers and everything and was a little surprised to discover that people actually wanted to maintain a skating rink. Why not just skate on Cook Lake, he asked? Maybe because the WARMING HOUSE was built next to the existing rink AND Cook Lake has a soft bottom and would require huge amounts of money and effort to turn into a skating rink AND THE WARMING HOUSE IS NEXT TO THE EXISTING RINK.
When faced with this odd idea that people wanted a skating rink, which did baffle the baseball folks, they were willing to compromise and have the tee ball fields just in the summer, with no underground sprinklers, and let those strange winter sports type have their skating rink in the winter time, if they really were that attached to it.
It was a pretty funny example of how limited some people's views are. It really didn't seem to occur to the guy wanting the tee ball fields that people actually, you know, wanted to ice skate. Once it was made clear to him that, yes, people do put metal blades on their feet and slide around on ice in the wintertime, then he was willing to live with temporary fields in the summer only.
I do suspect, in the long run, there will be a fight for the skating rink if only because the baseball people truly feel, in all sincerity, that their sport is good for the world and ice skating is just. . .well. . .something they don't do. And if they don't do it. . .
I think the City Council made it clear the rink must remain but I would be prepared to fight for it in the future.
Amorette