The outdoor ice-skating rink planned for Reading\u2019s Hillside Park will not be built next year.<\/p>\n
City Council members voted unanimously to strike the rink\u2019s budget line as part of a series of cuts made before they voted<\/a> to lower the property tax hike to 6% from 9% for the 2026 budget of $234 million.<\/p>\n Some council members previously raised concerns about the project\u2019s cost, management and repeated relocations.<\/p>\n Council President Donna Reed, one of the rink\u2019s most consistent skeptics, had questioned its cost and practicality throughout the process.<\/p>\n Instead spending money to build a rink, she had suggested the city consider an agreement for skating at the existing Santander Arena, home of the Reading Royals.<\/p>\n When the subject came up at the budget vote, Reed moved to remove the funding. The line item was struck along with several other cuts, including community engagement funds and a newly proposed budget analyst position.<\/p>\n Envisioned by Mayor Eddie Moran and his administration as a seasonal attraction and year-round event space, the rink had cycled through three potential locations.<\/p>\n Each move came after neighborhood objections or concerns about the effect on public space, youth sports or the surrounding environment.<\/p>\n Construction of the rink first began in an area outside the Third and Spruce Recreation Center but was halted when residents complained<\/a> equipment had disrupted baseball programs on the adjacent Roberto Clemente Memorial Field.<\/p>\n Officials later moved the proposal to City Park<\/a>, where a two-hour public meeting drew dozens of residents worried<\/a> about noise, parking, litter and the loss of mature trees.<\/p>\n