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Town bringing ice hockey rink to Stotzky Park

BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO| The hockey rink at Stotzky Park.

The Riverhead Town Recreation Advisory Committee approved funding this week for an outdoor portable winter ice rink to be built at Stotzky Park.

The $5,000 allotted for the project will be funded through fees paid by developers and set aside for capital recreation projects, at no additional cost to taxpayers, said Town Board member and committee liaison George Gabrielsen.

The project is still pending approval by the Town Board, though he said he hoped it could be built as early as December.

It will most likely be placed over the park’s roller rink.

Mr. Gabrielsen said he does not expect the Stotzky Park rink to compete with a year-round synthetic rink that will be built downtown, in part funded by a $99,000 county grant, which is pending approval by the county Legislature today, Thursday.

He said the winter rink, which will only freeze naturally, instead will be used mainly for pickup games of hockey.

“It’s really simple, but brilliant,” Mr. Gabrielsen said.

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