[VIDEO] Enclosed Ice Rink Proposed in Lincoln Township

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Does the area need a second – and enclosed – ice rink for hockey, figure skating, and other activities? A.J. Glowacki thinks so, and wants to buy a vacant 10-acre parcel at Glenlord and Cleveland in Lincoln Township to build a rink. His proposal earned a public hearing by the Lincoln Township Planning Commission Monday night.

“I’m hoping for late 2016, early 2017, the quicker this gets approved, the quicker we can get going,” Glowacki told WSJM News.

No vote was taken, and more than two dozen spoke. Those in favor include Sylvia Lieberg of St. Joseph, who helped bring the John and Dede Howard Ice Arena to St. Joseph, but notes there are issues with that facility being open-air.

“I’ve been on the parks board in the city of St. Joseph for over 25 years, and I’ve been trying to get them to enclose their rink, but I think this is a wonderful idea,” Lieberg said.

But the idea is not without its detractors such as Mike Desmet, who lives just a few houses away from the current vacant lot.

“Now everyone here who is for this arena is nowhere near this area. Now you’ve got to talk to people in this area, please don’t discount what we’re saying,” Desmet said.

Glowacki and other hockey parents say an enclosed rink would help keep dollars that are right now spent in Kalamazoo and South Bend here in town. Parents have to take their kids to those cities when the Howard Ice Arena in St. Joseph is closed outside of the winter months. Glowacki says other locations he has looked at along Red Arrow Highway and near Lakeshore High School are either too small or too expensive.