Councillors approve permanent oval after hours-long debate
Posted Mar 30, 2011 06:28:19 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
City council has given the “go-ahead” to make the skating oval a permanent fixture on the Halifax Common.
Regional councillors debated the decision for four hours on Tuesday, following a weekend that saw corporate sponsors pledge hundreds of thousands of dollars towards the oval’s future.
Coun. Dawn Sloane (Halifax-Downtown) argued that on top of being wildly popular, the rink has provided surprising economic benefits for small businesses in the neighbourhoods surrounding the Common.
“Having the oval there has made such a difference,” she said. “There’s a gentleman who owns a small corner store up the street from me…when the oval stopped, he said, ‘Please, bring it back.’ The business was great for our community.”
The oval comes with a cost of about $4.3 million for 2011-12 and $1.4 million for the following year. A tax hike of up to 0.8 per cent is on the table to help cover the costs – an option that had some councillors concerned.
“This debate is not about whether the oval is good or bad, this debate is not about should we go ahead and do it,” said Coun. Bill Karsten (Portland-East Woodlawn.) “This debate is about do we have our fiscal house totally in order?”
John Gillis of the Save the Oval organization says that while he understands the money concerns, he’s thrilled with council’s decision.
“This is as much everyone’s victory as it is for city council or for people who have been working on it,” he said. “It was community spirit that drove this.”
Gillis says he’s hopeful sponsorships will play a big role in off-setting the cost, noting corporate pledges have reached more than $1 million so far.
But the decision isn’t sitting well with everyone, and it’s not just because of the price tag. Sheilagh Hunt with Friends of Halifax Common says she supports the idea of having an outdoor skating rink in HRM – but not on the North Common.
“The North Common is the last part of the actual common that was given to the City of Halfiax, the people, the citizens of Halifax,” she said. “Through the last 200 years, it’s been eroded.”
The oval should be ready for public use again this December.
