Portage la Prairie city council voted to provide additional funding for the construction

Councillor Ryan Espey was outspoken in his disappointment that council did not proceed with an alternative that would see city staff maintain outdoor rinks. (file photo) of outdoor rinks in the community. But one city councillor insists it's no where near enough.

In a 4-3 vote last night, council passed a motion to provide $8,500 to Portage Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC) to put towards outdoor rink construction around the city at its discretion. Outdoor rink funding was up for discussion after PCRC submitted a prior budget request asking for additional resources to help build and maintain rinks at Prosvita Park and North East Park, which both rely heavily on volunteer time and resources. The city's outdoor rink grant program previously provided $500 for each.

Mayor Irvine Ferris, and councillors Brent Budz, Brent Froese and Wayne Wall all voted in favour of the motion. Councillors Ryan Espey, Melissa Draycott and Liz Driedger did not support it.

The dollar amount council approved is in line with the $8,500 grant Koko Platz Community Club receives each year for its outdoor ice surface. But Coun. Espey says additional resources are needed for rinks at Prosvita Park and North East Park. Neither has a water supply to create the ice surface -- which Koko Platz has -- meaning water has to be hauled in each year to build each rink.

"It isn't enough. It throws money at a problem that won't be solved by $8,500," says Coun. Ryan Espey. "Koko Platz gets $8,500, and that's what this number is based on ... we have two rinks in the north end with no access to water supplies. This wasn't the ideal solution."

"Myself and many volunteers have been working really hard to keep those rinks going year after year, and it has been an increasing challenge," Espey continues. "...It was quite clear to me (last night) that this isn't something, although council can say they value it, I don't believe that was demonstrated in the vote. And I don't believe in the report that administration has a value on these rinks either."

Portage la Prairie Mayor Irvine Ferris supported the motion to provide $8,500 to PCRC for outdoor rink construction. (file photo)Mayor Ferris says everyone can see the benefit of the outdoor rinks in the community. He says this is a fair increase to what the funding was in previous years.

"That being said, it certainly wasn't everything being asked for, so there are certainly some challenges ahead," Ferris explains. "There are challenges with the ice-making at these locations. Hopefully this money will help out a bit with that."

PCRC executive director Val Garlick says the organization will evaluate how to best utilize the funds to provide outdoor rinks that are accessible for as many residents as possible in Portage la Prairie.

"We're going to have to explore this with our community partners, volunteers and local businesses as well," Garlick says. "It's a really generous amount of money the city has committed to outdoor rinks for the 2016-17 year, and we're very pleased and appreciative of it."

"We should be able to ensure we have a rink in North East Park and Prosvita Park this year."

Other alternatives were presented to council, including: maintaining the current level of funding of $500 to each rink, hiring city staff for maintenance, hiring a contractor for flooding or offering free indoor skating at the PCU Centre an/or BDO Centre.

PCRC's original request to council also proposed the construction of two new rinks at Red River College and Fort la Reine School. It also submitted findings about other approaches used by communities across southern Manitoba in providing winter recreation, looking at Steinbach, Selkirk, Morden, Niverville and Virden. Four of those five communities have outdoor rinks maintained by city parks or public works departments.

In its report to council, administration said, for the city to take over setup and maintenance of the proposed four skating rinks it would need to hire one extra labourer for the parks department for the late fall/winter months. It would also need a one-tonne truck with water tank, pump and hoses. The report estimated it would cost $34,200 in the first year of maintenance, citing $13,000 in labour, $4,700 for a one-tonne pool truck rental, $15,000 for the purchase of a quad with a blade (for ice-cleaning) and $1,500 for fuel, supplies and lumber for new rinks. Administration's estimated annual cost after initial expenditures was about $20,000 per year.

Coun. Espey insists the city has the necessary equipment already to transport water to the north end rinks, pointing to a truck used to water flowers during summers months. He believes an added part-time position in the parks department through the winter months, focused solely on winter recreation, is what is needed.

"They can flood rinks, they can clear rinks, they can make cross-country ski paths, or do other things," Espey explains. "They could participate in winter recreation initiatives brought forward by other organizations. We could have done all kinds of stuff with one part-time position for the city that would have brought way more value than just those dollars that we're spending."

"We've given up a lot of things in Portage over the years, and we don't seem to replace them with anything," continues Espey. "There are so many other thriving communities that the city pays for winter recreation. They maintain rinks, they do these things around the community. We do not."