Two fewer boarded rinks this winter in Thunder Bay

A plan outlined by city administration in Thunder Bay, Ont., to close two boarded rinks this winter was met with skepticism by some members of city council.

Tarbutt and Wayland Parks, both in the Westfort area, currently have two boarded rinks each. The plan put forward by the parks department would see each park have one boarded rink this skating season.

"The operational savings will stay within parks in this situation," said Cory Halvorsen, the city's parks manager. "So, it's not a cut of dollars being transferred elsewhere."

Coun. Andrew Foulds had concerns that the money would be used to help lower the annual parks budget.

"The budget in parks will be staying the same," Foulds said. "Can you give me some examples of how you would redeploy the resources here? I mean, one of the things we hear from citizens is they want their parks maintained. They don't want any more cuts."

City administration told Foulds it expects to save $5,000 annually by the move, which is mainly in labour cost. Employees who would normally spend a couple of days per year putting up and taking down the boards will now be reassigned to other duties.

Administration also reminded council the decision was made based on its data of how many skaters use the rink on an hourly basis. A parks department policy states each parks needs ten users per hour to warrant a single boarded rink.

Both Tarbutt and Wayland have approximately eight users per hour for both rinks.

Council passed the user policy nearly 40 years ago.

Other council items

Council approved a recommendation from administration to purchase two speed radar signs. The signs are used as a traffic calming measure.

One sign will be installed along Arundel Street in the Current River Ward. The other will be a mobile sign that can be used around the city.

Suggested areas for the mobile sign to be used include Arthur Street West near Parkdale, on Neebing Avenue between Frederica and Walsh, and Francis Street West and Mary Street West between Neebing and James St. South.

Council also heard about a delay in the synthetic turf scheduled for Chapples Park.

The city allocated $2.5M to create two turf fields, to receive matching funds from the provincial and federal governments.

A funding delay meant the city would not receive matching funds, and a bid for just one turf field came in well above the available budget.

Administration told council it expects to once again but the project our for bids this winter, with more information on government funding available by March.

The goal is to have construction taking place in 2018.