Grey Highlands council has some big decisions to make on the future of recreation services and facilities in the community.
Council held a committee of the whole meeting on July 26 to consider a number of recommendations that have come forward through the development of the municipality’s Recreation Master Plan.
At the meeting, council was to debate and discuss 26 specific recommendations brought forward for consideration via the recreation master plan process. However, the three-hour time limit on the committee of the whole meeting expired before council could complete the decision-making process.
The committee will reconvene on Monday, July 31 at 9 a.m. to continue discussions on the recreation master plan.
The recommendations ranged from more controversial items such as the possibility of the municipality reducing the number of arenas it operates to more mundane topics like partnering with community organizations to provide recreation programs at local school gymnasiums and/or other available facilities.
The full list of recommendations can be found here.
Although the meeting had to be recessed before council could tackle the more controversial aspects of the report, it was obvious those items were weighing heavily on the minds of members of council.
“These are not recommendations that staff are saying we should be doing,” said Coun. Paul Allen at the outset of the meeting. “They have been pulled word-for-word out of the recreation master plan.”
Mayor Paul McQueen said the discussion and decision making process around the recreation master plan is a crucial time for the entire community and that council had a lot of work to do. McQueen pointed out that there is a lot of sensitivity in the community about recreation facilities and local community halls that council must respect and understand.
“This is a pivotal moment with regards to our facilities and how we move forward,” said McQueen. “I don’t think we need to run ahead today and make rash decisions. I think we have to take the time to fully understand and appreciate what we have with our facilities and spaces.”
Before council embarked on the recommendation-by-recommendation decision making process, Stephen Slawuta, a consultant with RC Strategies, presented an overview of the findings in the report.
The report was developed over the past couple of years and involved extensive community consultation through surveys, online forums and an open house.
Slawuta told councillors that Grey Highlands has a lot of aging recreation infrastructure - mainly its four ice rinks in Markdale, Flesherton, Feversham and Rocklyn.
“The replacement value is tens of millions of dollars, if not more,” he said.
These facilities, Slawuta said, will require significant investment in the future to continue operating.
“There is a risk by doing nothing,” he said.
Slawuta said Grey Highlands provides one arena per 2,655 residents. This is significantly lower than the rate of one arena for every 8,000 to 10,000 residents that is generally prevalent in other municipalities across the country.
“That’s not a bad thing. That means you’ve served your community well,” he said.
He also pointed out that not all the prime ice times at the arena were being booked.
“It’s not like your facilities are bursting at the seams in general,” he said.
He said on the arena infrastructure, the municipality faces three choices: significant re-investments to maintain the existing facilities, decommissioning to reduce the number of ice surfaces or something in between those two choices.
After the consultant’s presentation, the mayor said there is a lot for council and the community to digest.
“There is going to be a lot of conversation around where we go,” said McQueen. “There is a lot of passion.”
The agenda included a recommendation from the recreation master plan that council consider reducing the number of ice surfaces and look at options for how a decommissioned arena can be repurposed.
However, council did not reach that point in the agenda before the time limit on the meeting ran out.
Before the bell rang on the time limit, council was able to adopt a number of recommendations to provide direction to staff. They included:
- The municipality will continue to maintain and operate its existing community halls and will develop a plan to improve and renew local community halls that will involve and engage local residents.
- Develop a playground replacement fund through the budget process and ensure that future playground equipment and sites appeal to young and older children.
- Look at the possibility of the municipality providing or delivering community recreation programs for children, youth and adults at school gymnasiums and/or other available facilities.
- Provide communications and marketing support to community-based sports groups and clubs that offer sports programming in school gymnasiums and/or other facilities
- The municipality will consider providing a municipal-wide dedicated fitness and wellness space and consider providing or arranging the delivery of fitness and wellness classes for adults and older adults at accessible community halls and recreation facilities.
- The municipality will work to maintain an overall supply of municipal parkland between 4.5 and 5 hectares per 1,000 population to 2031; prioritize the acquisition and development of neighbourhood-type parks in future residential growth areas and will work to maintain a service level of a neighbourhood park within a 10-minute walk (or 800 metres) of residential areas.
