{"id":6907,"date":"2025-01-17T14:53:20","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T14:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=6907"},"modified":"2025-01-17T14:53:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T14:53:20","slug":"peru-approves-1-million-contract-to-install-ice-chiller-unit-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=6907","title":{"rendered":"Peru approves $1 million contract to install ice chiller unit – Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"


The sun sets over the ice rink on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, at Washington Park in Peru. The skating rink is no open for the winter season. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
Illinois Valley residents have been enjoying the winter activities offered at Washington Park in Peru<\/a> this season, and that enjoyment may expand as soon as November.
The Peru<\/a> City Counci<\/a>l approved Monday a $1,070,499 contract with SKI Sealcoating & Maintenance to install new chiller units for the ice rink.
Parks and Recreation Director Adam Thorson said once the chiller units are installed the rink can be open whenever the temperature is 50 degrees or cooler.
\u201cThe goal is November,\u201d he said, suggesting around Thanksgiving time.
With the new chiller unit, temperature will no longer be a concern. Thorson said he believes the lead time on a chiller unit is about 40 weeks, which will put the city at mid- January.
\u201cOverall it\u2019s going to be a very attractive area in Peru.\u201d
Thorson said the rink has only been open around 20 days this year, but noted it has been packed for skating and hockey during that time. The city was able to set up the rink at the end of November as the forecast was in the high 20s.
Last year<\/u><\/a>, the rink never opened. In 2022, the rink was open for seven days because of the weather.
Thorson said he wanted to touch on how big of an attraction and hit the ice rink will be once it\u2019s completed as well as Washington Park itself as whole.
\u201cTo have ice from November through March, more than likely, that\u2019s the bigger part of the project obviously and then the bocce ball court and the exercise equipment and just making it accessible to everybody for full usage.\u201d
\u201cSo, overall it\u2019s going to be a very attractive area in Peru,\u201d Thorson said.
At the end of January<\/u><\/a>, the city announced it was awarded a $600,000 Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Grant, a program administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, to make improvements around the Washington Park ice rink and make it available to the public despite weather conditions.
The city will match the grants with a 50\/50 contribution.
Mayor Ken Kolowski said once completed Washington Park will be a year-round gathering spot for everyone to enjoy.
\u201cI think this is a great addition to our community,\u201d he said. \u201cJust to see kids out like this and next year Adam\u2019s already thinking there\u2019ll be theme nights, there\u2019ll be all kinds of things we can go over there.\u201d
Alderman Tom Payton said he agreed and was really excited and happy for how the Washington Park improvements were turning out.
\u201cJust to let you know this million dollars comes from hotel\/motel, so we\u2019re not affecting any other projects \u2014 this has been planned for \u2026 that is what that fund is for to take care of things like this. So, looking forward to great things in that park.\u201d
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network<\/p>\n

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The sun sets over the ice rink on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, at Washington Park in Peru. The skating rink is no open for the winter season. (Scott Anderson)Illinois Valley residents have been enjoying the winter activities offered at Washington Park in Peru this season, and that enjoyment may expand as soon as November. The Peru City Council approved Monday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t