ESCONDIDO (KGTV) — A community group is pushing back against the city of Escondido's plans to build a permanent ice rink at Kit Carson Park, saying the location is wrong even as they support the idea of bringing a rink to the city.
Brenda Townsend helped found "Save Kit Carson Park," which she says has 100 members signed up.
"I think a lot of people from out of town are very excited about this project and I think we should have this project in Escondido. I think it could be very great and beneficial. However, this is not the right location," Townsend said.
The group's opposition centers on weekend traffic and the potential loss of green space at the park. Townsend is calling on the city to put the ice rink proposal to a public vote in November.
"Do the thing, do the project, do the thing. Please don't do it in Kit Carson Park," Townsend said.
Townsend also says the city lacked transparency with the public, alleging the city was in talks with the Rinks Foundation for years before bringing the project to the city council for a vote.
City Councilman Christian Garcia disputes that characterization.
"We're going to be focusing really on the softball fields, um, and really keeping it limited to the scope of what the actual space is that we're going to be needing. We've been extremely transparent, um, at what, what we're looking to do," Garcia said.
Garcia says the city has been actively engaging the community on the project.
"There's been a lot of engagement. There's been a lot of people that have been excited. There's a lot of enthusiasm about the potential ice rink here. There's also concerns, uh, legitimate concerns that I think that the city council and the city staff are considering," Garcia said.
Discussions are ongoing.
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