Tuesdays with the Mayor: A weekly update with Mayor Mike Wiza
By Taylor J. Hale
Staff Writer
STEVENS POINT – Mayor Mike Wiza sat down with Gazette staff to update Stevens Point developments. Wiza touched on possible park improvements and the possibility of streaming live games at K.B. Willett Ice Arena.
Bukolt skate park improvements
The city is working with John Pearson to improve and expand the Bukolt Park skate area. The improvements will feature three old parking lot curbs that will be repurposed for the skate park. The curbs will be taken from city storage and brought to the park by city crews. Pearson and volunteers will install the new pieces.
“We are expanding the skate park,” Wiza said. “Basically, we will be expanding and adding new features for people to enjoy.”
Wiza said work on the skate park would likely start next summer, but things could be complete this year, depending on weather and time.
City beaches could see restoration
Wiza said that the city is looking at potentially restoring the Bukolt and Koziczkowski Park beach swimming areas.
The idea was first brought up during a recent capital budget presentation that took place last month. City Park Commissioners recommend the city works with the Rettler Corporation to update and restore the waterfront areas.
Roughly $3,000 would go into the restoration of each beach, adding to approximately $6,000.
“We are just looking at the possibility of what it would take to improve those beaches because this year the beaches got used a lot more than they would any other year, mostly because the municipal pool was closed,” Wiza explained.
K.B. Willett Ice Arena could begin streaming games
The K.B. Willett Ice Arena could receive new streaming gear to allow fans to watch games remotely from home via a computer, phone, or tablet.
The streaming platform, LiveBarn, is being considered by city staff to let fans see more games.
City staff noted that the stream could be shut down when teams play that already have streaming set-ups or when it was not needed. A paid subscription would be needed to watch the games.