People ice skate at Lakeview Park ice rink in Holland. [Sentinel File] ▲ People ice skate at Lakeview Park ice rink in Holland. [Sentinel File] ▲

HOLLAND — An outdoor ice skating rink in downtown Holland is Frank Kraai's dream.

The 83-year-old Holland native has made thousand-dollar donations for the past few years to the city for the project. This year he donated $25,000.

"If they built it in at least the next five years, I still have my old skates, and I think I would put them on one more time just to say it's a dream come true," Kraai said.

For at least the past decade, Kraai has talked to the mayor and city manager about the project, and worked to promote his idea in the community. A refrigerated outdoor rink in a downtown or central location are the main things Kraai hopes to see in the ice rink.

Mayor Nancy DeBoer thanked Kraai for the larger-than-usual $25,000 donation at the Dec. 19 Holland City Council meeting. DeBoer said the amount of money in the future ice rink fund is now $66,004.

"It's not enough, but it is an amazing, faithful effort on his part to cast that vision," DeBoer said.

The ice rink has been identified as a future potential project in a draft of the City of Holland Parks and Recreation master plan. The city has had discussions about the ice rink, said Holland City Manager Keith Van Beek, but has not decided a timeline, location or details of what the ice rink would look like.

"We have definitely investigated the idea," Van Beek said.

Van Beek did not want to speculate a cost, but said the cost of maintaining a rink would also need to be considered.

In 2010, the city council approved of the purchase of a temporary downtown ice rink as a trial with a possible permanent rink in the future. The project prompted the city to open the future ice rink fund.

The city does operate two natural ice rinks that are open during the winter from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Lakeview Ice Rink is located west of Lugers Road on 32nd Street, and Smallenburg Ice Rink is on the corner of East 16th Street and Fairbanks Avenue. The two rinks do not offer skate rental.

When describing his dream ice rink, Kraai referenced the facility in South Haven. When South Haven bought its first rink in 2002, that was 55 feet by 150 feet in size — it cost $125,000.

A downtown public rink would be a great asset for Holland, Kraai said, especially because if it was located by Hope College so students could use it.

"It's tricky to find a place — I can see that," Kraai said. "Maybe we should put this by the Civic Center."

The nature of winter activities such as skiing and skating naturally cause an atmosphere of community, Kraai said. He has had an affinity for skating since he was young.

Kraai started skating when he was 10 years old. He would shovel off a frozen pond at a country farming area in Holland with his siblings and skate all winter, he said.

"It was so wonderful as kids," Kraai said. "I've always loved ice skating, and one of the really wonderful experiences in life is to skate on ice in the winter when it's cold and the fellowship it causes among people."

— Follow this reporter on Twitter @SentinelKate.