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Snowmaking project helps make Elver Park a winter sports destination on Dec 16, 2008
Mike Ivey, December 10, 2008
For snow lovers, the season is already off to a fantastic start. And winter doesn't officially start for another week.
But even if Mother Nature turns fickle later this winter, kids of all ages will still have a chance to slide down the big Elver Park sledding hill.
That's because for the first time ever, the city of Madison will be making snow for winter sports at the popular west side park.
The $200,000 project is a joint effort of the city Parks Department, the Madison Community Foundation, the Wisconsin Youth Company and the Madison Nordic Ski Club. The city has provided $50,000 of that under its People for Parks Matching Fund.
The idea is to provide healthy, outdoor winter activities for young people -- including low-income and minority kids on Madison's southwest side.
"A lot of these kids come from backgrounds where they weren't involved in winter sports," said Nancy Godell, executive director of the Wisconsin Youth Company, a nonprofit that for the last three decades has operated after-school and summer educational and recreational programs. "We're looking to change that."
Not only will kids get a chance to try skating, skiing or snowshoeing, they will also be involved in running the program. A Youth Company group will be renting equipment and selling refreshments at the Elver Park shelter facility.
"They will get a chance to apply for jobs, work at the operation and learn those kinds of skills, too," said Godell.
Other Midwestern communities have been adding snowmaking to their winter programs.
In the Twin Cities, two public parks now provide snowmaking both for sledding and cross country skiing.
Near Delafield in southeast Wisconsin, the state Department of Natural Resources started making snow for cross country skiing last winter at Lapham Peak, although with record amounts of natural snow it wasn't really needed.
The Madison project includes the purchase of a $125,000 grooming machine, a pair of used snow guns and a booster pump to provide water pressure. Most of the funds were raised privately by the Community Foundation and Nordic Ski Club, which hosts weekly cross country ski races at Elver Park in addition to offering ski lessons and youth programs.
"By combining the educational assets of the Wisconsin Youth Company with the energy of the Nordic Ski Club and the beauty of the Madison parks, we wanted to create a setting where people of all ages, abilities and economic circumstances could join together for recreation and joyful activities," said Tom Linfield, vice president of grantmaking at the Madison Community Foundation.
There will be no charge to use the man-made snow on the Elver sledding hill. But skiers are required to buy a pass to use the groomed trails. City crews will provide the maintenance.
Early on, the project has enjoyed the backing of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who included partial funding in a previous budget to get the ball rolling.
"Our parks are for all seasons and we're happy this project will provide families with some good old-fashioned winter fun," said Kevin Briski, Madison Parks superintendent.
Still, some critics have questioned whether resources should be going toward making artificial snow when the city is raising bus fares, reducing other services and facing unprecedented budget challenges.
But city parks spokeswoman Laura Whitmore said no money is coming out of the city operating budget, which provides for things like trash pickup or general maintenance.
"The money came from a fund exclusively used for matching donations from the community for capital improvements in a park," she said. "The money wasn't taken from or transferred from some other account or other program."
Whitmore said the City Council annually allots between $50,000 and $75,000 for the fund. The past couple of years there has been a small balance that has carried over to the next year.
"The comptroller's office confirmed that we did, indeed, have $50,000 in this account to spend on this project," said Whitmore.
The local ski community has already been moving forward in anticipation of the opening. Walter Meanwell of the Madison Nordic Ski Club said the group is hoping to raise additional money for new rental equipment at Elver Park.
"Our members have been stepping up as always but we'd like to raise another $10,000 to really do it right," he said.
Yuriy Gusev, executive director of the Central Cross Country Ski Association based in Verona, said the snowmaking equipment could also be used during the fifth annual Madison Winter Festival, scheduled for Feb. 13-15 in downtown Madison. For that event, snow is spread around the Capitol Square for two days of both racing and recreational skiing.
"For the last four years, our event has experienced every possible scenario, from record warm temperatures to the biggest total snowfall in history," said Gusev. "But we gained a lot of experience and expertise how to react quickly to the dynamic changes in the weather and deliver the best event possible. Madison Winter Festival is honored to be a part of the Elver Park snowmaking project."
If this winter is like last, they won't need to make any snow to spread around the Square. But the guns are there, just in case.
Reprinted by permission from 77 Square. Original article at <http://77square.com/sweat/features/story_318022>.
