A video on social media showing people playing on river ice prompted a volunteer effort in the community to create a safe outdoor ice rink.

Kathy Fuller was driving downtown on Bow Street on Jan. 12, when she looked over at the frozen Winnipesaukee River to see a patch cleared of snow. To Fuller, it was a tell-tale sign people were playing on the ice.

“I stopped, and I got out, and was absolutely horrified,” Fuller said.

With over 40 years of experience as a nurse, Fuller recognized the danger of ice, especially on a river. She cared for a patient who fell in the water, and she will never forget that.

“If you fall through the ice on a river and it has a huge current, you can’t get them there. You have to go downstream and look for them further down,” she said.

She later saw a video on social media of young adults on the ice. This prompted Fuller to spearhead an effort to bring an ice rink to the city. With a team of volunteers, she has received combined pledges of over $3,200, exceeding a $2,500 match challenge from the Modern Woodmen of America. Residents have donated ice skates, and Councilor Tom Boyce of Ward 2 is lending a bob house to be used for snacks. With all the equipment donated, Fuller intends the ice rink to be free for anyone to use. Other than a frozen pond sometimes in use at Veterans Memorial Recreation Area, Franklin families go elsewhere to skate.

“There are people in this community that do skate, they just have to go out of town,” Fuller said. “And it becomes expensive.”

City leaders are getting involved as well, including Mayor Desiree McLaughlin.

“I’m so excited, because this is really going to help unify the community,” McLaughlin said. “And this will really make it safer for the kids, because they really shouldn’t be on the river. It’s too dangerous.”

The efforts to create a safe community ice rink started over a week ago. While volunteers are still working on specifics, one potential construction solution is a portable liner that is 66 feet by 100 feet, two-thirds the size of an NHL hockey rink. The Franklin School Board approved a request to locate the ice rink on the lower field at the high school on Tuesday night, next to the track. It is only used in the fall and spring as a practice field. But further approval is needed from the city council, which is expected to consider the matter in February. School board member Michael Lombardo advocated for the rink’s location Tuesday night.

“It is an excellent site. It is close to a water source, obviously, the road can be cleared for emergency service vehicles,” he said. “It’s fairly central to our downtown and to our population center, so it should be walkable, and an easy quick drive for the majority of our families looking to use it.”

Concerns were raised during the meeting about insurance, particularly about the impact on the school insurance policy for the ice rink to be located on school grounds. Since that liability would be passed on to the city’s policy, the insurance issue will go before the city council.

The only way down to the practice field is on a small road which is not normally plowed in the winter due to the field’s inactivity. But DeGallo assured the board if the city council agreed, the city would help with that.

“The city would plow that road and make any necessary improvements so cars could get down there,” he said.

Franklin used to have ice to skate on. From the ‘50s through the ‘70s, Fuller said she and her family used to go to Odell Park and skate on a pond that is now a baseball field.

McLaughlin said last year, she proposed the idea of creating an ad hoc committee to look at an ice rink, but that was left behind. That committee has been revived since Fuller took charge last week. And while the official city committee still needs to be approved, a volunteer committee is in place, and many of those members are expected to be appointed to the ad hoc committee. The volunteer committee is holding a meeting at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, on the second floor of the Franklin Public Library, to talk about next steps. The meeting is open to the public.

Mill City Park has expressed interest in assisting with the ice rink. Executive Director Marty Parichand said he is offering the nonprofit’s large volunteer base.

McLaughlin is ecstatic about Fuller’s efforts. McLaughlin named Fuller as Franklin’s Citizen of the Year at the January council meeting.

“This is why she’s citizen of the year,” McLaughlin said. “She just gets something and runs with it.”

The idea has brought people out of the woodwork to contribute their time and effort. Lombardo said during the school board meeting that the collaboration in the community is special.

“The support for this has been unbelievable. It’s one of those rare cases, I think, where we’re seeing the entire city coalesce around an idea,” he said. “This is not just a skating rink, but an opportunity to build some bridges within the community.”

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