The Crookston Park Board met Monday at City Hall. The regular agenda included a review of outdoor rink options discussed during the last meeting and park board member terms primarily replacing Don Cavalier who was elected to City Council.
Park and Recreation Director Scott Riopelle updated the board on his review of possible locations for another outdoor rink. At Aunt Polly’s there are already nets put out on the natural ice by residents, so it doesn’t make sense for the City to duplicate those efforts. Both Schuster and Landslide Park had to much slope to make it work. The best solution was Wildwood Park on either the east or west side of the restrooms. The location includes a light pole, so there would be some light available for evening use.
“We looked at alternatives for having outdoor rinks, we needed a place that had a little bit of light and very flat,” said Riopelle. “We’ll try putting it in a park and monitor the usage. Why we took out most of the rinks was it wasn’t cost effective, a lot of time putting them in and then people weren’t using them.”
Chris Fee commented that Wildwood Park would provide some protection from the elements. While Garrett Borowicz and Becky Kofoed both commented that there should be some advertising about both the new rink and activities available over winter break. “We’ll do some advertising, get people to utilize these at Wildwood Park and the skating trail in Central Park,” said Riopelle. “We’ll be starting the outdoor rink at the CSC, weather permitting since this 30- or 40-degree weather isn’t conducive to making ice.”
Don Cavalier, who was elected to represent Ward 4 on City Council, thanked the board for all their work during his time as Park Board chair, saying he thought it was a very functional group that had accomplished much. “We thank Don Cavalier who has been our chairman, so the new mayor will put someone in his vacated position,” said Riopelle. “Kamille Meyer and Chris Fee both have their first terms ending and city protocol calls for the new mayor contacting them if they are interested in a second term.”
Riopelle will continue working on a creating a list of non-sporting events, specifically public events that are held at the Crookston Sports Center as requested the last meeting to showcase what else the arena is used for.
