http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20150119/EDITORIAL/150119667/1015/OPINION
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS..
MAYOR TOM HENRY HAS BECOME A TYRANT. EVERY THING IS BEING CUT; GUTTED; AND SACRIFICED FOR THE DOWNTOWN OVERLORDS AND THEIR SYCOHPANTIC SUCK UPS.
EVERY BUDGET; EVERY SPARE SLUCH FUND IS BEING SUCKED DRY TO SUBSIDIZE THE RICH WEALTHY ELITES IN THE NAME OF PROGRESS.
HOW DO WE SLAY THIS DRAGON? CUT OF ITS HEAD AND KILL IT?
DONT BLAME ME- I KEEP VOTING FOR ROACH..
IS IT TIME TO ERECT A GUILLOTINE IN THE COURTHOUSE GREEN TO REMIND THE OVERLORDS AND LOCAL ROYALTY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE CITIZENS GET PISSED OFF, REACH THE BREAKING POINT, AND DECLARE ENOUGH?
HMMM.
AND POOR AL MOLL- IS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE. HE'S A GOOD GUY AND A COMPETENT ADMINISTRATOR; AND WANTS AN EXPANSIVE PARKS DEPARTMENT THATS PROPERLY FUNDED.. BUT HES BLOCKED BY THE MAYORS OFFICE..
COLUMN
On thin ice: Residents fuming over park skating ban, offer to help bring 'gem' back
Lakeside residents say decision is bad for kids, neighborhoods
Saturday, January 17, 2015 - 7:30 am
It may be cold outside, but the Parks and Recreation Department's recent decision to no longer allow skating on the frozen ponds in city parks clearly has some people hot under the collar.
"The city is saying it wants people to be fit, but they're taking away something we already have (to accomplish that), said Susan Imler, one of several Lakeside-area residents angered by the department's plan to save money and reduce liability by eliminating the longstanding tradition of allowing skating at Lakeside, Reservoir, Franke and Swinney parks. "This will impact an asset of Fort Wayne neighborhoods, something that helps to keep the city strong. This was a way to meet your neighbors."
But to Deputy Parks Directer Perry Ehresman -- an old pond-hockey player himself -- the move is a regrettable but necessary response to safety concerns, declining use and ever-increasing financial challenges despite the department's $15 million annual budget.
"In the 1970s, we'd be open (for skating) 25 or 30 days a year. But with warmer winters, we've been open a lot less. You need five inches of good ice able to hold hundreds of people. You need to check (the thickness) every day and unless you keep the snow off, it doesn't freeze properly. You need to make sure it stays safe through the marginal (weather) days," he explained -- something that requires not only specialized equipment but personnel that can now be diverted to other uses. The move will also protect efforts to stabilize the banks of the Lakeside and Swinney ponds.
It's not an isolated decision. As the Associated Press reported recently, several municipalities around the country -- including Columbia City just west of Fort Wayne -- have curbed or eliminated sledding in parks because of the kind of potential expense now faced by Sioux City, Iowa and Omaha, Neb., each of which paid more than $2 million each to people injured by sledding into immovable objects. Fort Wayne isn't considering that, Ehresman said, although the city has erected barriers and taken other steps to improve sledding safety. He could not say how much money or man-hours the department will save because of its decision,
Allen County parks have never allowed skating because their ponds are spring-fed, and the current makes ice safety unreliable, officials say.
But none of that consoles Imler and many of her neighbors, who say they and their children enjoyed skating and, in some cases, intentionally bought homes near Lakeside Park to take advantage of what has been a decades-long winter tradition. Until now.
"I'm upset. People have been skating on the ponds for decades. What's changed?" asked John Speckhard, who in the past had complained about ponds remaining closed despite apparently solid ice. "I was calling when you could drive a truck across the ice. There's just no substitute for neighborhood activity. It was a gem, and now it's gone."
"On the surface this may look innocent, but it's a matter of principle. This is a quality of life issue," agreed Sara Kruger.
And although there is an ice rink in Headwaters Park just a few blocks away, it's just not the same, insisted Lori Miller. "At Headwaters, you have to pay, skate in a circle and there's no hockey. The kids used to walk to Lakeside in their skateguards," she said.
Ehresman said the decision is not unique to skating. The city regularly reviews its recreational programs in an attempt to direct resources to the most-popular programs. Supervised playground activities used to be offered in 40 spots, he said, but were all eliminated before six were restored.
The residents say neighborhood associations representing the area near Lakeside Park may get involved, and if they can't convince parks officials to change their minds that still won't be the end of it. Perhaps the department could create an outdoor rink in the park, of freeze the tennis courts to provide a makeshift skating area. Matt Geyman said residents would be willing to volunteer their time so they can be trained to monitor and maintain the frozen pond, relieving the city of the burden.
Ehresman, however, wasn't sure that would be possible, in part because of liability issues.
Fort Wayne's parks are a community treasure, and residents' passion and willingness to preserve that treasure indicates some sort of compromise is not only possible, but needed. Even without permission to skate, after all, the ponds will have to be monitored -- such as when, according to Lori Miller, a police officer apologized while chasing people off the ice.
For now, however, kids who once got valuable free exercise and enjoyment skating will have to do something else.
"They'll be in the basement playing video games," lamented Mary Speckhard.
This column is the commentary of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The News-Sentinel. Email Kevin Leininger at kleininger@news-sentinel.com or call him at 461-8355.
Letter to the editor: Reopen our ponds for ice skating, please
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Monday, January 19, 2015 - 8:47 am
I believe that Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department Executive Director Al Moll was completely unfounded when he made the decision to close local ponds to ice skating.
Firstly, Moll cited safety in his reasoning to shut down these beloved skating sites, but through my research I haven’t found one instance when someone fell through the ice when it was actually deemed safe by the department.
Should the department stop monitoring and displaying when the ice is — or is not — able to support the weight of neighborhood kids, there could be many more accidents or fatalities. Kids will be kids, and they will be tempted to go on the ice when they aren’t supposed to, especially if there’s no time during which they are allowed.
The other supposed downfall Moll mentioned was funding; however, there was never any warning about low funds were before he made the decision to stop allowing skating. No attempt was made to reach out to the neighborhoods in an effort to find volunteers or local funding for the ice activities.
I’m sure many who have spent winter days on these ponds over the last 100-plus years (the earliest mention I found of skating at Reservoir and Lakeside parks was published in the Fort Wayne News on Dec. 4, 1900, which differs from Moll’s report of 50 years) would gladly offer their time or skills to make sure that ponds are cleared of snow, ice is thick enough to support the activities and there is proper indication when conditions are not right.
As for the so-called lack of interest, all you have to do is go out to Lakeside Park on a day when it’s open for skating to see the falseness in that statement.
Moll should reopen these ponds and actually try to find a sustainable funding solution. Ice skating is one of the few cost-free activities that kids still look forward to in the affected neighborhoods. These kids don’t all have the resources to get to or pay for the skating at Headwaters Park, one of the only places they are now able to go.
It’s a shame that one man’s hasty decision has taken a free entertainment source and longtime neighborhood tradition away from these people and left them with a lower-quality version from which the private sector profits.
Brendan Mensch
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