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The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday May 27, 2006 - 7 Town ponders outdoor skating rink proposal By Melanie Cummings SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Politicians could be skating on thin ice at Town Hall in the winter of 2007. For that matter, so could town staff, residents and visitors. Or, some could fall flat on their backside, depending on how well each one can balance on those skinny blades. There's "significant" support out there for an outdoor ice-skating rink in town. In fact, 68 per cent of respondents in a townwide survey ranked an outdoor rink as the number one recreational priority. These findings were discovered during recent public consultations organized by the town's department of recreation and culture. The forums asked for community input on the future needs for local parks, recreation, culture and libraries. It seems Oakville has the very unCanadian status of having too few outdoor rinks for pleasure skating and shinny hockey. A draft master plan presented to the Community Services Committee meeting Wednesday night recommends an outdoor artificial ice surface in a central location. While there's support for the idea, the price tag will be the major hurdle. Initial estimates for a 60-foot by 120foot artificial rink are pinned between $290,000 and $395,000. The lower figure covers the cost of a portable pleasure skating surface. The higher one is an estimate for a permanent site that would have piping buried in concrete and a lifespan of 15 to 20 years. This artificial surface would serve a dual purpose, hockey and recreational skating for 12 weeks in winter and basketball, rollerblade hockey or lacrosse in warmer weather. The price breakdown goes like this: $200,000 pays for the portable rink and $90,000 covers lighting, site preparation and leveling plus hydro and water supply and hook up. Adding hockey to the playing surface increases the cost by $65,000 to pay for boards and nets. A permanent rink adds another $40,000 to the price tag. The size of the portable ice rink is much smaller than a standard hockey rink, which measures 85-feet by 190-feet. Resident Dale Egan, who proposed the idea to council during recent budget deliberations, said it is the same size as the wellused, popular portable rink in Bronte Park. No money has been set aside in this year's budget, but a test spot could be put in place for 2007- 2008 winter season, said Michael Brennan, manager of the town's recreation and culture department. The three proposed locations for an outdoor rink included in the staff report were: Coronation Park, Oakville Arena and Wedgewood Park. A portable ice rink requires a location with room to house the Freon refrigeration equipment during the off-season. The Oakville Arena site has the advantage of using its existing hydro and water services for the outdoor arena. Ward 5 Councillor Jeff Knoll wanted Civic Square or Town Hall grounds put on the list as potential rink locations. The Regional Municipality of Halton Pud By Steve Nease snease@haltonsearch.com under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, all licensed private home day cares must be smoke-free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whether children are present or not. 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville, Ontario L6M 3L1 Tel: 905-825-6000 · Toll Free: 1-866-4HALTON · TTY: 905-827-9833 · www.halton.ca