The 100 Mile Outdoor Rink Society wants their project to become a permanent fixture in 100 Mile House.
The rink was built on the tennis courts near 100 Mile Junior Secondary this winter with help from members of the community, the District of 100 Mile House, and the Cariboo Regional District. Nadaya McNeil first brought the idea to the District of 100 Mile House council in October, and the project became a reality when the rink opened on December 30th, 2020. McNeil says she and other 100 Mile residents want the ice to become permanent infrastructure.
“This whole year was what we considered a pilot year for this project,” McNeil says, “It’s exceeded my expectations, it’s been so popular and well used. Just seeing that has inspired us to take it one step further and make it permanent, make it better”.
McNeil has started work on a proposal to present to the Cariboo Regional District to try to make the Outdoor Rink a permanent staple in 100 Mile House. She hopes to be on the agenda for the CRD’s March meeting. McNeil plans on including public letters of support in the proposal.
“What we’re looking to get from the community right now in gathering what we need to put this proposal together, a huge part of that includes feedback from the community”, McNeil says, “If you have anything you want to say, who does this benefit, who uses it, who could possibly use it in the future, what might you see it becoming as we move forward with this project? We are open to taking suggestions because this is a project on behalf of the community so we want to know [what the community] is looking for”.
Suggestions and feedback can be sent to the project’s FaceBook Page or sent to the project’s email account at [email protected].