THUNDER BAY — Thunder Bay’s city council is set to debate the future of an outdoor skating pond Monday, touching on a larger question of how the city manages its growing number of outdoor rinks.
On Monday, Coun. Greg Johnsen (Neebing) will ask council to reconsider a decision it made on Dec. 5 to cease maintaining the Centennial Village pond, an unboarded, unsupervised rink near the intersection of Arthur Street and Highway 11/17 in his ward that city workers have been clearing and flooding for years.
It was one of two unsupervised, unboarded rinks — which the city calls ponds — that council voted to close, along with the Vale Community Centre pond in Northwood, a move recommended by staff based on low usage rates.
A three-week annual audit found only 0.23 people per hour using those two ponds over the past five years. The average for ponds was 0.5 people, while the city’s target usage rate is one person per hour.
It's one of a number of underutilized ponds, staff said, recommending the city also consider closing another five ponds, as well as downgrading several other rinks to remove boards or supervision.
Parks manager Cory Halvorsen said the recommendations follow the city’s outdoor rink policy, and will help free up staff time and resources to improve ice quality at better-used facilities.
Council unanimously approved the recommendations on Dec. 5 without debate.
Since that meeting, however, Johnsen said he’s heard from at least eight or nine residents in the neighbourhood that the rink is used and important to the community.
“They voiced their displeasure, they got back to me, and they wanted it reversed,” he said. “They’re suggesting there’s been a high turnover in residents in the area in the last couple of years, [and] possibly the issues of COVID and gathering was a reason for its low participation as well.”
“From the emails I got, people were suggesting they use this rink with their little kids, especially during the holidays … They cleared it themselves, often, they put up hockey nets.”
There are few other nearby rinks available, and none within walking distance, he added.
Halvorsen said Johnsen's call will lead to an important conversation on Monday about the city's limited resources.
“The recommendation seems minor — it’s two ponds, which doesn’t seem like a lot,” he acknowledged.
However, he said the two ponds are “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the larger question of how the city manages an outdoor rink program he characterized as now being overstretched.
Participation is below target at most outdoor rinks, he noted, something he hopes to improve by maintaining a smaller number of rinks better.
The number of outdoor rinks the city is responsible for has grown without new staffing resources, he said, most recently with a boarded rink at Dease Park and a skating trail at Vickers Park.
Those two new sites “will be partially resourced by the proposed discontinuation” of the two ponds, according to a staff report.
The city now maintains 39 outdoor rinks across the city using seven or eight staff in each of the north and south ends, Halvorsen said.
The potential closure of the Centennial Village and Vale ponds was first publicized to nearby residents two years ago, he added, as part of a plan to cut down the number of rinks to a more manageable size.
Johnsen said the voices of residents deserve to be heard along with the results of the usage study.
“The study the city does is important … but it was only about a three-week study,” he said. “The residents seem to suggest … it’s an important part of the community there on Confederation. I think ultimately you have to listen to residents.”
“I’m hopeful to reverse the decision and maybe offer a little bit of a tiny Christmas miracle.”
The rink near the Vale Community Centre would still be closed if Johnsen’s motion succeeds on Monday, and staff would still be directed to serve public notice of potential closure of other lesser-used outdoor rinks.
Those staff recommendations include closing the Woodside Parkette, Anten Parkette, Picton Parkette, Franklin Park, and Holt Parkette ponds; downgrading John Kusznier Park, Third & High Park, and Wilson Park from “boarded unsupervised” to “unboarded unsupervised”; and downgrading Waddington Park, Oliver Rd. Park, and Frank Charry Park from “boarded supervised” to “boarded unsupervised.”
Those closures and downgrades would be recommended for implementation in 2024, if usage rates do not improve.
