The Municipality of South Huron will be extending ice availability this spring.
On Monday, council voted to extend the ice season at the South Huron Recreation Centre in Exeter for 2026 and moving forward.
The move was made in response to a delegation from the local minor hockey association, asking for ice availability to remain until mid-May to comply with OMHA-mandated spring tryout windows.
CAO Rebekah Msuya-Collison said more Community Services staff would be needed but that was an area they were already exploring.
"The more services that are added, and the more development that happens, it does put a strain (on staff), especially at the shoulder seasons, but throughout the season itself," she said. "We are hiring more staff as needed and that sometimes shows up in overtime hours. For now we just wanted council to recognize that it is possible, but their may be some delays in some of the shoulder season."
The projected revenue for keeping the ice open an additional two weeks ($11,200), should offset the costs of keeping the ice open, but potential staff overtime hours is where it could get expensive. In a report to council, staff said the shoulder season between winter and summer is the busiest time of year for Community Services.
That could also impact the annual Rummage Sale held at the rec centre, although Amanda Johnston, Community Services Manager, told council they did speak to organizers about using the Stephen Arena this year if needed.
"It was offered as an option," she said. "There would definitely be some logistical things we would need to figureout, parking is always an issue there once it gets to be busy. The Rummage Sale, I know they had two dates they were looking at and they were pretty flexible to pick the later date... just knowing we have another location if we need."
The ice extension would run until May 18 and then removal could take up to nine days.
