TUPPER LAKE - The town plans to start an informal outdoor skating rink at the Little Wolf Beach.
Town Youth Activities Director Mike Fritts suggested a skating rink might be a good idea at Monday night's town board meeting. He said he usually gets a few questions about it annually since the civic center doesn't have a lot of free skating time and the lake at the Municipal Park is more open, so it's more susceptible to wind.
The town board was skeptical about the idea at first, but town resident Rick Reandeau, who lives in the the Little Wolf area, volunteered to plow out a skating area and to maintain it.
"If you guys want a rink, I'll give you a rink," Reandeau said.
Councilwoman Kathy Lefebvre asked if someone would need to be around to supervise skaters.
"Nobody supervises the sled hill at the (town-owned) country club, and everyone uses that," said town Assessor Paul O'Leary.
Article Links
Councilman Gerry Fletcher said he is concerned about snowmobilers not seeing the rink, or it being in their way, but Reandeau said he is confident he can create it on one side so it won't be in the way of snowmobile tracks.
O'Leary suggested using old Christmas trees to mark the borders of the skating rink area; the trees would be cheap and not be an environmental problem if they're not removed before the ice melts.
In the end, the whole town board agreed that an outdoor skating rink would be an asset to the community.
"Great idea," said town Supervisor Roger Amell.