Mayor’s election promise surfaces over summer ice

Whenever citizens meet for coffee or a brief news exchange, political promises and politicians quite often become the focus of conversation.

Seldom does the conversation take a positive turn, with congratulatory comments coming forth for acts and deeds by

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That could be changing here in Moose Jaw as we hear

Mayor Clive Tolley speak about topics of interest to citizens and in doing so, reminding voters of the planks in his HOHFWLRQ FDPSDLJQ RI MXVW RYHU ¿YH PRQWKV DJR

One of those commitments was to pursue the idea of maintaining summer ice in one of the city’s arenas. Like the sportsman he is, Tolley decided there would be traction in discussing summer ice on a broader level, from his position as mayor and with his ear closely attuned to the opinions of ice users.

Just recently he reiterated his belief that a city the size of Moose Jaw would be better served if summer ice could be made available. He was politically wise in his comment that provision of summer ice would be based on a demonstrated demand.

To balance his support for the proposal, he said several factors would have to be considered. The cost of course would be a factor, as would the capability of the infrastructure to operate year-round. Then there’s the matter of city staff. With winter staff being moved to outdoor summer tasks, more employees would be required to operate and manage the summer ice programs.

The mayor is basically telling hockey and skating JURXSV WR JHW WKHLU SODQV LQ SODFH DQG KDYH IDFWV DQG ¿Jures on hand with which to support requests for summer ice. One of those considerations would be the user-pay concept, meaning all costs associated with summer ice would/should be carried by the users and not the general tax account.

No doubt Mayor Tolley has already asked city adminLVWUDWLRQ WR GR VRPH EHKLQG WKH VFHQHV ZRUN WR ¿JXUH RXW KRZ VXPPHU LFH ZRXOG LPSDFW WKH ¿QDQFLDO DQG SK\VLFDO well-being of the city. And would ice in Moose Jaw be detrimental to near-by communities that already provide that service? There is much to consider.

Meanwhile Tolley earns a positive check mark for remembering some of his campaign musings.