‘Essential for the community’: City of Fernie, residents working to reopen outdoor rink

The Fernie Community Rink was first constructed in 2017. Photo courtesy: City of Fernie

After miscommunication between the municipality and residents about an outdoor skating rink, the City of Fernie says it’s working to find a new group to take over operation and liability to get it back up and running.

The Fernie Community Rink was first constructed in 2017, after three people died from an ammonia leak at the Fernie Memorial Arena.

Part of the rink and boards were donated by the Calgary Flames Foundation.

“It has its challenges to run,” said Mayor Nic Milligan, in an interview with CTV News.

“There were some structural challenges, the temporary buildings that housed water services ran their course, a lack of volunteers and it’s very weather dependent.”

Milligan says because of that, the rink was closed down in 2023.

Long-time volunteer Arthur Sombrowski was dedicated to maintaining the ice for many years until he recently passed away.

Since then, Milligan says the volunteer numbers have diminished, with no one left to take care of the rink.

A call-out in October didn’t yield the results the city needed to continue with operation.

In early January, a group of Fernie residents came together to clear the ice surface and get it ready to flood ahead of the winter temperatures.

“We had the rink cleared out within 10 hours,” said Kelyn Opel, a Fernie resident.

“It was ready to go and be flooded, but we were then told no from the city.”

Opel said a cease-and-desist order was issued by the city, but Milligan says it “was more of a conversation” to put in safety protocols and take steps to restore the ice safely.

That caused pushback from residents on social media and Milligan says city council addressed the matter at Tuesday’s meeting to lay out a path forward that satisfies both residents and the city.

He says he’s fully behind the need for the outdoor rink to reopen but “there needs to be steps taken before we can open it back up.”

“We really want to harness that interest, but we want to harness it in a way that protects everybody,” said Milligan.

“It protects all the volunteers, it protects everybody who uses the ice after it’s been installed and it protects the taxpayers.”

Following the meeting, Milligan says the city is now in the process of joining forces with either an existing or new non-profit to take over operation and liability of the rink.

A group of residents is in the process of forming a non-profit following the meeting with council.

Group member Michael Johnson says they hope to move as fast as possible to take advantage of the winter weather.

“We just want to utilize in its current position the ODR (outdoor rink) for the whole community for the whole community to enjoy this winter,” said Johnson.

He says the group is focusing on getting incorporated and finding insurance.

He says local businesses have already stepped up to help cover liability fees and other expenses.

“I think it’s a great outlet for kids in the area to continue working on life skills as well as hockey skills,” said Opel.

“It’s been essential for the community.”

While the hope is to have the rink flooded this winter, Johnson says that’s not the end goal of the group.

The current site of the rink is the future development site of the Elk Valley Field House Society’s indoor recreation facility.

Johnson says the group hopes to move the rink to a new location in Fernie next winter.

“The potential is there for sure to have it ready this winter; we just need to ensure that the city is fully behind to support us in achieving that goal,” he said.

“If we only get 10 days out of the rink, it’s 10 days more than nothing. If we get 40 days out of the rink, awesome.”

Despite the controversy on social media, Milligan says he and the city are ready to take those next steps.

“Let’s hit the reset on this conversation,” said Milligan.

“Let’s all sit down around a table and work out a plan together so everybody is happy that we have an outdoor rink and everybody is protected at the same time.”

While Johnson says there’s work to do, both he and the mayor are optimistic the rink will once again be operational in Fernie soon.

“We’re a mountain town that needs that outdoor rink,” Johnson said.