MASON CITY – Marcia Boster wasn’t set on the location of a new sledding hill right from the beginning, and now that it has been built, she fears all the work that went in to the project is for nothing.
“I just feel bad for the families,” Mrs. Boster said in an interview Saturday next to the sledding hill, located in Georgia Hanford Park on Mason City’s southeast side. She said that since the big snowstorm last Thursday, she has been walking the area and seen and talked to families who approached the hill and “turned around and left disappointed.”
Mrs. Boster says she and 19 other Mason City citizens tried to plead their case for weeks to project director Ozzie Ohl and the Mason City Park Board that the location “wasn’t a good fit” for several reasons but the hill was built anyway.
Among the concerns Mrs. Boster have pointed out are: The sledding hill is too small and will not appeal to teens; the walk to get to the hill is too far; most days, it is too cold in the area where the sledding hill was built due to wind; people have tried to drive cars up to the hill; disruption of natural prairie setting; lights and parking are inadequate; and no snow will stick to the hill due to the fact the hill faces north to south instead of east to west, as she says the preliminary plans had indicated.
Mrs. Boster made it clear that she respects the project and the work of volunteers such Mr. Ohl but still feels that the hill should have been built elsewhere.
Watch video:
httpv://youtu.be/6_AdCiV1P6I
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Did they ever consider that building a sledding hill that faces SOUTH is a terrible idea. Any snow that does stick to it will quickly melt facing the sun to the SOUTH.
Maybe Ozzie has never been skiing out west to notice that south-facing runs are not the best. Hey, how about a snow-making machine? If they can bottle water and sell it, they can make snow! LOLOL
I believe the hill faces North/Northwest.It was just the high winds that blew all the snow off.
That was a nice park… now with a bunch of dirt. What a mess.
I think the project is a good idea and appreciate the efforts but perhaps it was rushed. I always thought this was not the place for it and is not what the prarie land was donated for.
This is probably a work in progress. But anything that’s for the kids in the community is a positive. Kudos to the people that made this happen.
You know I don’t have kids at home anymore but it just seems that anything that can be done to give them something to do and to get them out side is a real good thing. It is brand new. Give it some time to develope.
The grass needs to grow, to hold the snow, they can always make it bigger, it is a start. Ozzie did this on his own. I can see a big future for this site.
Looks like the hill needs more snow. looks much longer than East Park. Probably needs a year to get the wild flowers or prairie grass growing to hold the snow.
Want to without judgement until than. Marcia isn,t alway right but she is always vocal.
I haven’t seen it in person, but on video, it looks pretty pathetic.
If it keeps kids out of trouble and gives them some excersise, then it’s all good. I just comment Mr. Ohl for doing this and making it happen.
Walk is to far? bet if there was an xbox up there they would walk to it! geez