BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick Mall skating rink, typically located on Maine Street, will not be opening this season due to uncooperative temperatures and a lack of snow, according to organizers.
“Unfortunately, we have made attempts starting back in December and again in January to get the Mall ice rink up and operational, however mild temperatures, lack of snow and the loss of frost in the rink area has thwarted all previous attempts,” said a statement on the town’s website.
“At this point, we would need an extended cold snap and a minimum of one full week of such conditions accompanied by adequate snow depths to support a perimeter berm necessary to contain the water until it would fully freeze.”
The statement also said that, on a normal year, the town struggles to maintain the rink after February school vacation due to weather. Since that timeframe is approaching, the parks and recreation department has “decided to forgo continuing to make ice at the Mall.”
“The Mall is a totally different challenge in terms of how ice is made there,” said Parks and Rec Director Tom Farrell.
Farrell said this is the first time the department has not been able to open the rink since he became the director in 1984.
“We made the decision to discontinue trying about 10 days ago,” he said, mentioning that sunlight exposure in that area was also a factor.
Farrell said that the COVID-19 pandemic did not play a role in the status of the Mall rink, and that the Lishness Hockey Rink is currently open, and Coffin Pond Rink will “hopefully open in the coming days.”
According to Farrell, the town usually tries to have the rink open by Christmas, but has struggled to keep it open the past few years. Additionally, the Lishness Hockey Rink and Coffin Pond Rink have characteristics that make opening more feasible, such as their perimeters and base layers, he said.
“It hasn’t been open weeks at a time consecutively for a number of years because of the changing weather conditions,” he said, citing the more mild winters the Midcoast has seen over the past two or three decades.
Jane Millett, a Brunswick local, former town councilor and proponent of the Mall Ice Skating Rink, said in a phone call that “It really just is an iconic feature to our town, and I think along with the Christmas lights and the BDA’s (Brunswick Downtown Association) activities, its really really an important piece for us to keep going forward.”
“The nice thing about that rink is you see families there and kids, who are learning, and it’s just a really nice meeting place for people,” she said. “Kids really do enjoy it, I mean I used to take my kids down there all the time when they were little to go ice skating,”
Farrell also said that in lieu of the Mall rink, this year the Parks and Recreation personnel has transitioned to maintaining 7 miles of cross country ski trails at the Kate Furbish Preserve, which are available to the public.
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