The return of cold weather to Niles also means the return of something many people enjoy a lot more than the cold — the city’s free-to-use ice skating rink.

Weather permitting, the rink is open daily and located on AEP’s property at the corner of Howard and Front streets, across from the skate park.

City police open the gates in the morning and close them again at night.

Niles Councilman Tim Skalla, who helps run the rink, said people can use free skates located in a shed inside the gated area. There are also a number of other skates inside the warming building, which only opens when a volunteer is there to run the facility.

“We could always use more volunteers,” Skalla said.

Those wanting to help should contact Skalla at (269) 362-3142 or email him at wskalla@sbcglobal.net.

The rink is large enough to accommodate all types of ice-skating activity, including pick-up hockey games.

Skalla said attendance last year was good.

“We had some decent crowds,” he said. “It isn’t a really big rink, so if you have 35 to 40 people there that is about all you want.”

The history of the ice skating rink goes back to 2005 when a group of volunteers and the City of Niles flooded a surface at Eastside Park. The area was cleared by snowplows and drenched with water.

In 2011, the ice rink was located on the west side of Front Street on city property south of Wonderland Theater. The City of Niles received a donation of sand to level out the ground to create a 60-by-100 foot ice rink, making the process more efficient for the winter seasons to come.

Skalla thanked AEP again for the use of the property.