By Cecilia Nasmith
The importance of enough outdoor skating capacity in Cobourg was evident in a motion at Monday's committee-of-the-whole council meeting, where councillors voted to extend hours at the Rotary Harbourfront Park rink and to establish a second rink at the Sinclair Street ball diamond.
Councillor Emily Chorley's motion calls for the Sinclair Street rink to proceed after the provincial lockdown is finished (and as soon as weather permits), as well as to extend Rotary Harbourfront Park rink hours as much as possible due to the high demand for that facility through the on-line booking system.
“The rink has been completely booked,” Chorley reported.
“There certainly is a demand in the community for the opportunity to be physically active outdoors.”
Deputy Director of Community Services Teresa Behan said staff have come up with a plan to operate the Rotary Harbourfront Park rink between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. seven days a week, a move that would allow 100 more skaters a week.
Mayor John Henderson applauded this move, and related the e-mail enquiries he had been getting from frustrated would-be users of the rink – especially parents who work and don't have flexible hours.
“You have made many people happy who have made contact,” Henderson said.
The Sinclair Street rink is planned as a no-frills outdoor rink. It will have signage advertising COVID-19 safety protocols but little else – no staffing, no utilities, Deputy Director of Community Services Teresa Behan said.
“I caution you – if it's not minus-10 degrees for several nights, it will not be able to be built.”
In all, a $5,000 budget is planned for this project.
“I for one am very excited about the prospective addition of a second rink, especially in Sinclair Park,” Councillor Nicole Beatty said.
“It seems a throwback to the good old days, when there used to be one there.”
Beatty did ask about the potential impact on residents who live near the Sinclair Street park. Chief Administrative Officer Tracey Vaughan pointed out that, since it has a ball diamond, nearby residents are probably used to seeing users in the park.
“If there is a snow storm, is it up to the kids to clean the rink off?” Councillor Brian Darling wondered.
“Town staff will do it, but it's more important that pathways and sidewalks and roads and parking lots are completed before an outdoor rink,” Behan said.
And no, Darling was told – hockey is not allowed on this rink.
Councillor Beatty shared a conversation she had had with a Hastings resident who was one of the volunteers behind an outdoor ice rink that was undertaken when that community lost its arena. They raised money for the project, for which they were allotted one acre in a Hastings Park. They worked with their local firefighters for the initial flooding and came up with something similar to what is envisioned for Sinclair Park.
Their story is inspiring, with volunteers leveraging available resources, fundraising and coming up with something for the entire community.
“Moving forward, is there any possibility we could do a call-out to nonprofits, organizations, businesses, sports enthusiasts, residents, citizens, to see how we could fundraise and build upon this idea of an additional outdoor ice rink, possibly with an expansion to accommodate an outdoor rink in one of our parks that could be dedicated to hockey and shinny?” she asked.
“Absolutely we can look into that,” Behan replied.
“And it's a good idea to take to the parks-and-rec advisory committee. We have a meeting tomorrow. It will be brought up under new business.”
Deputy Mayor Suzanne Seguin mentioned a Canadian Tire program that provides funding to outdoor hockey rinks under a program they run.
“You might want to look into that,” Seguin suggested.
“I really like the idea of this initiative. I would look at anything that would not be a burden on the taxpayer, for sure.”
