Players from Grafton Minor Hockey waited to come on the ice last season. The 2024-2025 season is hanging in the balance. At the time of publishing, the league has pledged $60,000, and an anonymous donor has also stepped up with an additional $25,000 to see if the rink can be fixed at the aging Memorial Arena. The situation is uncertain, as testing will determine if repairs can save it.
The show:
On September 30, the Alnwick-Haldimand Township council met to discuss the state of the Memorial Arena in Grafton. The ice rink’s pipes were failing, and the situation was grim.
The council debated what to do. The choice was stark: either pay $50,000 for repairs on the system that may or may not fix the problem or cancel the hockey season.
Children were already registering. The Grafton Minor Hockey League was gearing up to start shortly.
After a discussion, the council canceled the 2024-2025 hockey season and shut down the arena.
Within 24 hours, the entire situation changed. An anonymous donor stepped forward with $25,000 for the repairs, and the Grafton Minor Hockey League put a further $60,000 on the table to help pay. This relieved a lot of pressure on the township’s budget.
The next day, there was a second meeting. The council barely discussed anything. The necessary bylaws and motions were carried unanimously. The council moved forward with the repairs. The hope is that the repairs will work and the ice can be salvaged. If not, the leftover donations will be returned.
Everyone involved knows there are no guarantees. But it could salvage the kid’s hockey season.
You can to another edition of In Their Words. You will hear Alnwick-Haldimand council debate the closure of the arena.
The segment aims to give people who would not usually attend a council meeting a chance to hear their political representatives at work. No spin. No opinions. No one is telling you what to think. Just what was said.
You decide how the council performs.
Originally aired: October 4, 2024