ST. PAUL - An idea that Coun. Gary Ward first hear of while attending the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA) conference will soon become a reality in the community, after Town of St. Paul council voted in favour of moving ahead with the creation of an outdoor skating oval.
The idea was brought up after a request for an additional outdoor skating rink was brought forward. While council denied the request for the additional outdoor rink since there is already a rink located in the same subdivision, Ward felt it was an opportunity to bring forward the skating oval idea.
During Monday night's council meeting, Ward explained that other communities have created similar outdoor skating experiences using campsites that are empty during the winter months. He talked the idea over with staff from the Parks and Recreation department before bringing it to council.
The idea would see the first loop of the town's Iron Horse campground turned into a winter experience that anyone on skates could enjoy. The idea would allow for ample space and would give families something safe to do, while restrictions are in place this winter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Once it's built, it can be maintained easily," said CAO Kim Heyman. She noted that a large skating oval makes more sense than building more smaller rinks around town.
The area also already has sufficient parking and it would be easy to supply picnic tables and create an area where people could sit to put their skates on.
The oval would allow for faster skaters to use either the outside or inside lane, and slower skaters would then use the opposite lane.
Coun. Nathan Taylor said he felt the skating oval was a "wonderful" and "brilliant" idea.
If the idea proves to be popular, the town would look at bringing in portable toilets next winter.
Mayor Maureen Miller also voiced support for the idea.
It was noted that while the fishing pond that is located in the same area isn't available for ice fishing at the moment due to an aerator recently being installed, it is anticipated that later in the season people will be able to ice fish on the pond, making for another winter activity that people can participate in, making the area a sort of winter getaway.
Council unanimously agreed to move ahead with building the skating oval at the Iron Horse campground.
"I'm anxious to see this happening," said the mayor.
Other outdoor rinks in town
Prior to the skating oval being brought up, council denied a request to create an outdoor rink on a boulevard located in the Spring Creek area, just east of Extra Foods. It was noted that there already exists an outdoor rink just a block and a half away.
Town of St. Paul staff are now flooding five different sheets of ice throughout town for people to be using. Areas are flooded once a week and cleaned off by public works staff.
Coun. Taylor said it was great to see the town committing to maintaining the outdoor rinks, but also brought up the fact that when he was a youth, he remembers helping maintain an outdoor rink in his hometown of Smoky Lake.
Coun. Ron Boisvert recalled how the town used to have about 14 outdoor rinks, and after the town flooded them, residents would often be the ones maintaining the rinks.
