MAPLETON – The Alma Community Recreation Association (ACRA) is proposing installation of a covered multi-use pad at Wallace Cumming Park in the hamlet.
A delegation from the association, consisting of chair Chris Grose and project co-chairs Blair Winch and Jim deBock, recently outlined the plan to the Township of Mapleton Parks and Recreation Committee.
The proposed facility has its roots in the Wallace Cumming Park Master Plan which was approved by Mapleton Township Council in 2006.
Since that time numerous development projects have been completed at the 25-acre park, which was donated to the community by local resident and farmer Wallace Cumming.
Completed projects include a walking trail, children’s playground, picnic shelter, wetland boardwalk, community centre, toboggan hill, beach volleyball court, labyrinth, memory arboretum, disc golf course and a pollinator garden.
The master plan also included an informal proposal for a rink/courts structure in the southwest portion of the park.
The facility has been reimagined as a multi-use covered cement pad to provide for more recreational opportunities in the park.
The size of the proposed pad, which would include a refrigeration system, would be 50 by 100 feet, similar to the existing outdoor rink at the corner of King Street and Graham Streets. The existing facility is owned and operated by the Optimist Club of Alma.
“Because of data suggesting that the current rink structure in Alma was aging and not fit for today’s climate, it was decided that the multi-use pad at Wallace Cumming Park would be covered and have the capacity for refrigeration,” states a report from the ACRA delegation.
To maintain the ice rink, the multi-use pad would require an adjoining building to house an ice resurfacing machine, water sources and a compressor unit.
In addition, the report notes accessible bathrooms would be added to replace the existing portable bathroom unit in the parking lot in the southwest portion of the park.
The pad would be located in the south part of the park, immediately to the east of the current pavilion.
The report also notes infrastructure improvements, including a hydro connection, a sanitary system and a well, would be needed.
The committee indicates the facility would be completed in phases and preliminary estimates indicate the final cost could reach $1 million or more.
“These estimates take into account projects completed in Atwood, Nairn, Puslinch, and Moorefield,” the report explains.
A similar facility in Nairn saw the East Williams Optimist Club funding the project which was turned over to the municipality of North Middlesex, which takes care of costs such as maintenance and insurance.
The report notes the facility would allow residents more access to outdoor winter recreation, given the pressure on local arenas to provide ice for organized winter sports such as hockey and ringette.
“The community of Alma and area is forecasted to have growth in upcoming years. Young families are moving to this area and are in need of recreational facilities that they can utilize without having to go to further away centres such as Centre Wellington or Drayton,” the report states, adding, “For example, there is no access to public basketball, tennis, or pickleball presently in the village. Having a facility as proposed would greatly increase spring, summer and fall recreation options.”
The report points out the facility could also provide a venue for arts and cultural activities.
The project was unanimously supported at the June 17 meeting of the parks and recreation committee, which recommended Mapleton council also endorse it.
The report was accepted for information, along with the committee minutes, at the July 11 council meeting.
Councillor Michael Martin asked if the delegation would be making a presentation to the council at a future meeting.
“When they get a little further along they’re going to have to come to council,” said Mayor Gregg Davidson, who added that he expects the committee will want to apply for the municipality’s 50/50 funding program.
“We asked them to go back and do some more engineering, some more architectural work and get a full package before they returned to council, so all the questions that council potentially could ask, they could answer at that delegation,” said public works director Jamie Morgan.
“It’s a great project if they can get that going, get the funding for it,” Davidson commented.
“Another community project from one of our community organizations trying to make Mapleton better place,” the mayor added.
