The cardiovascular room in the fitness center at Little Bear East will be converted into a locker room for hockey teams for six months out of the year, if the city council approves. Cardiovascular equipment would be moved into the main workout area during that time.

The St. Ignace Recreation Advisory Committee, at a brief meeting Wednesday, April 9, voted 6-0 to recommend the city lease the cardiovascular room from October 1 to March 1 for a flat fee of $500 to allow the St. Ignace Hockey Association to convert the room into an extra locker room during home games and tournaments at Little Bear East.

City Council is expected to consider the recommendation at its meeting Monday, April 21.

Committee member Marianne Huskey chose not to vote owing to questions she still had about the issue.

"I felt like there were some unanswered questions, like who is going to clean the room and what will be put in there and will it be taken out," said Mrs. Huskey after the meeting. I would've rather tabled the issue to allow more of our board members to discuss it because I don't think this solves the problem."

Five committee members, including Chairman Don Gustafson, were absent from Wednesday's meeting, as was City Manager Eric Dodson.

The request by the hockey association was brought to the committee at its November 28 meeting, at which time it formed a subcommittee to study the idea of moving heavy cardiovascular equipment, like treadmills, up against a wall and installing a mobile curtain or wall for protection.

Owing to the risk of moved equipment being damaged, the subcommittee, headed by committee member Fred Paquin, thought it better to move the equipment into the fitness center during the hockey season.

Mrs. Huskey believes the board may see more contention from fitness users, pointing out the fitness center is most busy during the winter months.

At Wednesday's meeting, Mrs. Huskey asked if the benches the hockey association plans to install in the room will be permanent. Paula Goudreau, representing the hockey association, said the benches would not be a permanent fixture, but they would stay in the room until the season is over.

The extra locker room space will allow the Midget AA St. Ignace Firehawks to have a permanent locker room. The Firehawks now move their equipment out of their locker room to allow another team to dress during tournaments.

With the conversion of the cardiovascular room, the hockey association will have access to five locker rooms.

Moving the treadmills, step machines, and other cardiovascular equipment into the main workout room jeopoardizes the aerobic exercise programs, aerobics instructor Renee Vonderwerth told The St. Ignace News.

She did not attend the meeting and was unaware the committee was presenting a lease agreement with the hockey association for use of the room.

"I'm really disappointed," she said. "There was no consideration to involve us in this conversation. What are you saying to those community members that use these programs?"

Mrs. Vonderwerth holds aerobics classes three times a week from Labor Day to May. Robin Belonga also holds low impact aerobics classes during the winter. Between 12 and 22 people participate in the aerobics program. If the fitness center had more room, more people would participate, said Mrs. Vonderwerth.

Helen Thibault suggested to the committee that the aerobics programs could be held in the facility's conference room. Mrs. Thibault is the Little Bear facility host and is filling in for Recreation Director Erica Mattson, who is on maternity leave until April 23.

Mrs. Vonderwerth said the conference room is where her aerobics program was held previously, when the Junior A Black Bears hockey team was organized in St. Ignace, but aerobics sessions were always subject to scheduled meetings in the conference rooms.

"The conference room is getting busier and busier," she said, "plus, all our workout equipment is stored in the fitness center."

Like Mrs. Huskey, Mrs. Vonderwerth believes the issue should have been discussed when more of the committee was present and said she intends to contest the committee's recommendation to convert the cardiovascular room into a locker room.