It will be a busy and productive summer here for a number of local service clubs after council agreed they can be part of the township’s funding program for parks equipment.
The Drayton Kinsmen Club asked council recently if it can have some financial help to replace the playground equipment in the Drayton Kinsmen Park and the Moorefield Park. Council suggested they run the idea through the township’s parks, culture and recreation committee.
That group met on April 12 and recommended council accept the clubs’ offer. The committee minutes noted the Drayton Kinsmen, Moorefield Optimists and Opti-Mrs clubs have $15,000 for each park.
They requested that they have some input as to what type of equipment is to be installed and how it is maintained. The township has had a sudden influx of issues with deteriorating playground equipment.
The clubs will prepare the base and install the equipment and are asking that they receive annual township reports on the upgrades and maintenance needed to keep the playground equipment in good repair.
Council agreed to the first recommendation on the issue to initiate a partnership between the Kinsmen, Optimists and Opti-Mrs. to fund the parks, and also that the groups can access the 50:50 funding policy.
That township policy means if a group does a community project, council helps pay for half of it. Council agreed to that.
The committee also recommended council set up a working committee that includes the members of the three clubs, township staff and the recreation committee, with no more than six members.
Mayor Bruce Whale was concerned about that recommendation.
He said it implies that council could be asked to form any number of committees for various projects and he said he could “foresee 15 committees being formed.”
Councillor Neil Driscoll said the recommendation is more to get the project up and operating, and not for regular meetings.
Public works director Larry Lynch, who sits on the parks, culture and recreation committee, agreed the suggestion for a committee is simply to get things started.
Councillor Jim Curry said he could understand the clubs wanting an annual report because the township suddenly had to pull unsafe equipment from parks – and they want to make sure that does not happen again.
Driscoll said the goal of the committee was simply to save time, and Lynch said it could meet once a year to review the township’s report.
Whale did not object to such a special purpose committee and council approved the recommendations.
