Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
St. Petersburg okays roller-hockey rink
The city will use $155,000 from the sale of Weeki Wachee land for the recreation offering at Northwest Recreation Center.
By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published January 15, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG - They search for smooth surfaces, sticks in hand, hoping to find a place to smack around a puck.
Now, for the first time, roller-hockey enthusiasts will get a rink of their own in St. Petersburg.
On Thursday, the City Council voted unanimously to spend $155,000 to create a roller-hockey rink out of an abandoned tennis court at Northwest Recreation Center, 5801 22nd Ave. N.
The money comes from proceeds of the city's sale of its Weeki Wachee land in Hernando County, money that is earmarked for recreation and other quality-of-life projects.
The decision sprang from a workshop the council held to discuss projects slated to receive Weeki Wachee money. Members also approved spending $45,000 to put a climbing boulder somewhere downtown (a final location has not been selected); $57,000 to complete the lighting and drainage at Lake Vista Skate Park; $200,000 for a "sprayground" feature at North Shore Pool; $80,000 for courtesy docking along the Central Yacht Basin; and approximately $14,000 to replace trees destroyed by Hurricane Charley in the Gisella Kopsick Palm Arboretum.
The idea for the roller-hockey rink came from council member Richard Kriseman. Half of a tennis court was ripped away to make way for the new recreation center at Northwest. Kriseman spotted the remaining concrete slab and immediately thought of roller hockey.
City Services Director Lee Metzger was a quick supporter because he frequently gets complaints about kids appropriating tennis courts for roller-hockey.
Other council members voiced their enthusiasm, too.
"I really like the idea of putting things out there that kids can use right away," said council member John Bryan.
The new rink will have dasher boards and a protective top fence, with a 6-foot green vinyl fence around the perimeter. The council has the option of later adding lighting, bleachers and a shade structure.
Metzger said he hopes to have the rink ready for use by summer.
The climbing boulder also generated enthusiasm. Council members hope it will give youths who gather downtown something to do.
"Right now, we have nothing to entertain our young people but the Banyan trees, and they're climbing on them like crazy," Bryan said.
The projects still leave about $315,000 in this year's Weeki Wachee budget. A total of about $15.2-million is in the fund, which generates between $300,000 to $500,000 per year in interest.
Carrie Johnson can be reached at 727 892-2273 or cjohnson@sptimes.com
[Last modified January 15, 2006, 01:47:20]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
