Wawa Municipal Council's holding off on deciding whether to extend the ice season.
In their Committee of the Whole meeting this week, Council received an impassioned request from Richard Watson - on behalf of the Wawa Minor Hockey Association and other ice users, of which about three dozen people were in attendance, including children - requesting a minimum two-year commitment for the ice season to at least run from the start of September or Labour Day to the end of April, if not longer.
Watson cited other smaller communities that have a longer ice season - with training or hockey schools in August and tournaments into April - saying the local users are just asking for fairness and the ability to keep up with other communities.
He questioned how much the longer season would cost, and assured the user groups would be able to make use of the ice, emphasizing the community want for this as well as the potential revenue benefits, saying the arena would be able to use "other people's money" to cover the costs by renting it out - he even suggested that Wawa's new provincial and federal representatives would be able to help obtain funding, as they're both in their respective governing parties, and outlined a dream for a second pad in the future, suggesting it could turn Wawa into a more desirable location for tournaments.
While councillors expressed appreciation for the request, they emphasized concerns about costs and whether the ice is actually going to be used, with Mayor Melanie Pilon ending discussion by affirming that they'll defer a decision for now, with a presentation on a review of the ice policy to come up in next month's meeting, to be held August 12th.