Elgin's Wing Park ice rink a budget casualty

Budget cutbacks at Elgin city hall have already claimed 16 jobs.

Now they're hitting a city-sanctioned ice skating area.

For the first time in recent memory, the skating rink at Wing Park will remain closed for the winter, officials said.

The move will save the city money on overtime, and ease safety concerns because some of the boards are cracked and dangerous.

"It's not something we like to close down, but for public safety, we will," said Jim Bell, superintendent of parks for the city's public works department.

Bell said it takes public works crews five, eight-hour shifts, including two overnight, overtime stints, to make the ice over a period of three days.

That comes to nearly $2,500 in initial wages, plus about three hours a day to maintain the ice if the weather holds.

Bell said the ice is only good for about two weeks.

"This is an area that's weather dependent. It's not like our downtown rink," he said.

The Wing Park rink does not have refrigeration coils like the city's other site, CitySkate, which is just west of city hall, 150 Dexter Court, near the Hemmens Cultural Center.

The west side Wing Park rink is a popular destination for informal ice hockey games in the winter and in-line skating and hockey in the summer.

But workers about six weeks ago discovered some of the rink boards at Wing Park were cracked and possibly dangerous.

Materials to make these repairs will cost about $3,400, not including labor.

The rink has been cordoned off, but Bell is hopeful funding for the repairs will become available in January to reopen the rink when the weather warms.

"I think we'll probably get funding for it. It's a popular activity," he said. "It's one of our priorities to get it up and running."

Bell said the outdoor rink was closed one previous year because it never got cold enough to make ice.