As temperatures slowly fall this season, Guilford Parks & Recreation Department, along with the town’s avid ice skaters, are hoping for a fun-filled winter of skating at the Mill Pond. Parks & Rec Director Rick Maynard is coordinating this year’s efforts to bring a safe and fun skating season, which even with cold temperatures is far more difficult than one might think.

According to Maynard, he and his staff have tried several projects over the years to counter warm weather and provide an artificial area for skating in town, but have found that ultimately Mother Nature is in control. In past years, the Parks & Recreation crew has installed artificial rinks on the Town Green, at Guilford Lakes School, and also at Bittner Park with varying degrees of success.

Maynard said that the costs and logistics have demonstrated that the best way to get skaters on the ice is simply to let the Mill Pond freeze naturally and provide as many safe skating days as possible.

“We tried these other options, but they just didn’t work,” said Maynard. “They just weren’t cost effective.”

There are formulas and standards that Maynard and his staff use to determine the safety of the ice.

“I am extremely conservative when it comes to opening up. We have to be. Four inches is the absolute minimum, but I like to have five inches,” Maynard said. “We may have to have snow blowers and heavy equipment out the pond to clean and groom the ice, so I like to be as careful as we can.

“I need to keep the staff safe as well,” he continued. “It also depends on whether it’s white ice or black ice. Black ice is just water that freezes; white ice has snow or has melted and refroze, making it not quite as strong as the black ice. But we try and do everything we can to get the pond open.”

According to Maynard, in general it takes about 10 days of below-freezing weather to build up enough safe ice, as his calculations have determined that the Mill Pond produces about half an inch of ice per day during sub-freezing temperatures.

Maynard is also requesting that residents heed the signage at the Mill Pond and keep off the ice if the sign states “No Skating.” There are multiple reasons why skating might be banned on any particular winter’s day, for both safety and ice grooming rationales.

“Firstly, there are two signs—’Skating’ and ‘No Skating.’ It’s obvious, so if we say ‘No Skating,’ please stay off the ice. Because the reason might not be just ice thickness,” said Maynard. “There are a number of reasons why we close the pond to skating. It might not be safe, the ice might be rough, or we don’t have supervision. We don’t want people out there when there’s not somebody there. We supervise it whenever it’s safe.”

“No Skating” signs will also be up during hours when the pond is not being monitored by staff, as the site only opens at 3 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends, said Maynard.

According to Maynard, it is important for anyone using the Mill Pond for skating understand that even in the coldest winters, there are sections of the pond that do not freeze and also sections with moving water that are dangerous and need to be avoided. Maynard has seen people in past years ignore the “No Skating” signs and wants to ensure skaters simply follow the department’s directives on when the ice can be used.

“The key thing is safety. We do check it and make sure it’s as safe as can be. We don’t let anyone skate all the way down at the end of the pond; we put up cones for that. If something happens way down there, they are just too far away. They might not be seen, if they fell through or fell and hit their head. It’s just like lake Quonnipaug or Jacobs Beach—you have to stay within the markers,” said Maynard. “It’s all about safety with us.”

According to Maynard, the ice needs to be shoveled and prepped according to strict criteria and some years this is a difficult proposition.

“Last year we were only open a couple of days. We got some snow, but the ice wasn’t thick enough to get our equipment on there to clean it off, and that was it. It melted and refroze and that kind of ended the season,” said Maynard. “But my guys are real good and we always try and clean the ice to make sure we maximize skating days. It’s like a little league field. We have to get it ready for the game.”

In past years, residents have taken it upon themselves to shovel the ice, which is a job only for the Parks & Recreation crew, according to Maynard. Though well intended, residents who have taken it upon themselves and shoveled the snow off the ice have instead, ended up ruining the ice for skaters and caused the site to be closed to skating.

“We don’t want people shoveling it on their own. If not done properly, it will destroy the ice because all that snow has to go somewhere. Let my crew do that job, so it’s done correctly,” said Maynard. “One year someone took a snow blower out to do some ice fishing and unfortunately that ended up ruining skating for the rest of the year. I realize people want to help, but that doesn’t help. Let us do that job.”

According to Maynard, the ice, when approved by his department, will be open from 3 to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. They also have lighting and a monitored fire pit to keep skaters warm, and ask that skilled skaters and especially hockey players use the far end of the safe zone to enjoy their ice time.

“We got the fire, which is always nice, it’s like a Currier & Ives scene, we got people skating out there, it’s beautiful,” said Maynard. “I don’t ice skate, but I just love going and watching everyone else. It’s one of the many things that gives me great satisfaction, knowing that our staff did something for the community and got people out in the winter time.”