Sorcha Pattee, 11, center, and Duncan Pattee, 8, right, of Bowling Green, skate at the SoKY Ice Rink on Friday, November 15, 2019, at the SoKY Marketplace Pavilion. 

After a year off, the SoKY Ice Rink in downtown Bowling Green will return, and its upcoming season will include more ice time for “pond hockey,” skillet curling and some activities for the community’s special needs population.

Work has started on installing the 6,000-square-foot ice rink in the SoKY Marketplace Pavilion for a season that begins Nov. 12 and runs through Jan. 9.

The dates were announced Tuesday during a Warren Fiscal Court meeting in which veteran Magistrate Tony Payne announced he won’t seek reelection in 2022.

Payne, 71, began his career as Third District magistrate during the final term of longtime Judge-Executive Basil Griffin. He served six nonconsecutive terms on fiscal court and served with 19 different magistrates.

“It has been a good run,” said Payne, whose fiscal court tenure totals 24 years. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. It has been fun, and I’ve enjoyed it, but I’ll be 72 at the end of my term. It’s time to go.”

Four of the other five magistrates announced plans to run again when the period for filing for office begins Wednesday. First District Magistrate Doug Gorman confirmed he will file to run for the judge-executive position that incumbent Mike Buchanon is retiring from in January 2023.

This year’s SoKY Ice Rink season will be a return of a seasonal activity that started in 2016 and had grown both in popularity and in variety of activities before the COVID-19 pandemic led to cancellation of the 2020-21 season.

Leah Spurlin, Warren County Parks and Recreation Department special projects manager, said the ice rink will be back with a schedule altered to accommodate activities like hockey and skillet curling.

The ice rink will be open to the public on Thursdays and Sundays from 1-9 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Most Mondays will be reserved for skillet curling events, Tuesdays will mostly be devoted to youth hockey and Wednesdays will be reserved for private events.

“There has been high demand for hockey,” said Nikki Koller, the Warren County Public Works assistant director who works with Spurlin on organizing ice rink activities. “But they had to play after hours most of the time. This will give them some designated times to play.”

Likewise, skillet curling grew in popularity during the 2019-20 season, leading to scheduling additional time for the activity this year.

Described by Koller as a combination of shuffleboard and bocce ball, skillet curling now has an organized league locally that will have at least 10 teams this season.

Also new this season is the addition of two sleds that can be used by people with physical disabilities.

Purchased through a Wellness Edge grant from the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute, the sleds will be used in conjunction with the city of Bowling Green’s adaptive sports program.

“The sleds will allow people with physical disabilities to get on the ice with their families,” said Cameron Levis, special populations instructor for the Bowling Green parks department. “We’re partnering with the county because we have the same mission – to enhance the quality of life for our residents.”

Spurlin said the ice rink will open at 10 a.m. Nov. 12, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for 3 p.m.

In other action at Tuesday’s meeting, magistrates voted to approve the purchase of seven Ford Interceptor vehicles for the Warren County Sheriff’s Office at a cost of $293,210.40.

“Every year we have to replace seven to 10 vehicles,” Sheriff Brett Hightower said. “We have to ensure that we have a healthy fleet for our 50 deputies.”

Hightower said vehicles are harder to come by this year, with shortages of microchips and other parts delaying deliveries. He expects delivery of the Interceptors to take six to eight months.

The vehicles are being purchased through the county’s Enterprise Fleet Management program that allows for selling some vehicles back each year.

“Last year we got good prices on those we sold back,” Hightower said. “The idea this year is to sell back five to seven vehicles.”

The magistrates also approved the second and final reading of an ordinance rezoning 263 acres near Nashville Road and S. McElwain Road from agriculture to single-family residential. The ordinance passed 5-1, with Sixth District Magistrate Ron Cummings casting the dissenting vote.

The action clears the way for the property owned by the Leon Tarter family and near Chaney’s Dairy Barn to be developed as a 532-lot subdivision.

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.