A Hawkesbury citizen is not quite raising the roof about a rink in a local park, but he is hoping the town eventually does.
Stephen Leighton addressed Hawkesbury Council on Monday, November 10 and recommended the town install a roof over the outdoor ice rink at Larocque Park. Leighton, who has educational and career background in physical education and recreation management, said sunshine and lack of shade often make the neighbourhood rink unusable during the winter season.
“The north end of the rink always melts, and it refreezes and becomes a lumpy quagmire,” Leighton told council.
He said installing a roof over the rink would be a good investment because it would make the facility more usable and safer.
Mayor Robert Lefebvre said the town is preparing a new Parks and Recreation Master Plan which was open for comments such as those Leighton was making. He said 654 comments have already been received.
Director of Recreation Geneviève Goulet said the plan is not yet totally complete, but comments like Leighton’s have been brought to their attention and will be included in the plan.
Leighton was pleased with Goulet’s response. He said that he once led a similar study of parks and recreation planning on the West Island near Montreal, and about 70 per cent of the recommendations in the report were adopted.
“Like everything else, funding is always an issue,” Lefebvre responded, but indicated optimism for a possible roof over the rink at Larocque Park.
“It’s part of the master plan and we’ll see how the results come out,” he said.
