The building, equipment and flooding system are in need of extensive repair, Mount said.

“This is not a turnkey operation,” he said. “Far from it. It’s like an old farm, you can’t just turn around and say ‘Here, you run it.’”

Volunteers flood the rink with water from the Little Rouge Creek nearby using an intricate system of hoses and pumps. When the river freezes, volunteers cut a hole in the ice, Mount said.

If city salt trucks are out in abundance that year, the runoff goes into the river and the extra salty water doesn’t freeze as fast, he added.

If a January thaw brings rain, that means muddy river water and volunteers can’t flood the rink for a few days.

There is no Zamboni to clean ice. Instead a tractor with a resurfacing tool on the back is used. The tractor is stored outside and when that freezes, volunteers warm it up with a torch.

“It’s so specific and unique,” Mount said. “But I love it.”

One of the main deciding factors to close this year is ownership of the land.

The land is owned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), confirmed deputy mayor and Regional Councillor Jack Heath, who sits on the authority board.

But the building and operation of Cedarena fall under the Cedar Grove Community Club.

“We didn’t want to sink money into it because the ownership is up in the air,” said Mount, who was also past-president of the club.

“You’re not going to do heavy work on a home you’re renting if you know the landlord is switching soon and you don’t know how long you’ll be there.”

Ownership is a complex issue.

The Cedarena property, along with the old school house built in 1864 in Locust Hill, are part of the lands reserved by the TRCA for the future Rouge National Park.

Ownership was transferred from the province to the TRCA during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Heath said.

And now, Markham is thrown into the equation.

“We don’t own the land, but if the TRCA or the new Rouge National Park want us to keep going, we’ll carry on,” Mount said. “We’ll do it, but we’re going to need help.”

For the past several years, the city has been in negotiations with the TRCA about bringing Cedarena back within the city’s purview, said Heath.

“It’s regrettable, yes,” he said. “But it’s not a surprise. Cedarena has been stressed for years.”

He expects to see something come before Markham council early in the new year.

There would be a price tag to bring the rink up to city standards. Artificial ice could cost millions of dollars, not to mention repairs to the existing building and equipment.

There are also talks of possible infrastructure grants, Heath added, or continuous financial support from the city over the next eight to ten years.

Some warm winters have been a factor, too, with the ice needing a period of consistently cold weather to be good to skate on.

Last year marked Cedarena’s 88th season, after starting in 1927. The old fashioned outdoor rink sits on the banks of the Rouge River and was taken over by the Cedar Grove Community Club after rink creator Arthur Lapp died in 1941.