Complaints About Fitness Center Hours, ‘Hard Decisions’ About Pool on Rec Committee Agenda

The recreation committee has been given a defibrillator by an anonymous local donor. The medical device is used to restore normal heart rhythm in cases of cardiac arrest and will be kept at Little Bear East Arena, it was announced at the Wednesday, February 9 Recreation Committee meeting. The defibrillator is compatible with the ones used by Mackinac Straits Hospital and Allied EMS ambulance service.

The Recreation Committee plans to get a second defibrillator for the recreation program.

Fred Paquin, who chaired the meeting in Don Gustafson’s absence, said that so far, two lives had been saved at hockey rinks in Michigan this year because they had defibrillators.

In other business, Mr. Paquin discussed complaints about fitness center hours. Recreation Director Phil Hinkson talked about promoting the arena as a conference center. Mr. Paquin volunteered his time, if needed, to keep the fitness center open additional hours. He said he had 12 people in the last month complain about the lack of hours it is open. Currently, the center is open Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday it is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday hours are from 9 a.m. to noon, and it is closed Sunday.

Mr. Hinkson said Tonya Valletta, Little Bear facility host, promoted the area at a Meetings Up North conference in Detroit and Lansing in early February. The purpose of the two-day conference was to make information available about on the facilities that are available here for conventions, and to get more business from lower Michigan.

Mr. Hinkson said the March Recreation Committee meeting would be an important meeting regarding the future of the pool and the baseball program.

“Changes will be brought to the board about the baseball program and hard decisions may need to be made about the pool,” he said. Rapidly-rising utility expenses are plaguing the city recreation budget.

The next recreation meeting will be Wednesday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Little Bear East Arena.