NORWICH – With milder winters forcing the Borden Ave. skating facility in the City of Norwich to close early and often in recent years, city officials are now pondering the option of building a steel roof over rink in hopes that it will lead to less maintenance costs and more skaters in the future.

Thanks to a recent offer from the Norwich-based Follett Foundation, the prospect of building a roof over the skating facility is seeming like less of a pipe dream and more of a reality, say city officials, as the longtime concept may now have a chance of coming to fruition.

Robert Mason, Director of the Norwich City Youth Bureau, pitched the idea to the city’s Common Council last week. Despite the enormous cost of building a steel roof over the 16,000 square foot rink – an undertaking that bears a $250,000 price tag – the current proposal suggests the project would be entirely funded by a philanthropic donation to the city, he said, and would come at no cost to the taxpayer.

“It would be a tremendous help,” said Mason, noting how often the skating facility closes due to snow, rain, and sun exposure. “The last few years have been terrible as far as ice goes. We might get one good day for skating but then the ice melts and it can take weeks to re-freeze.”