It was only a grant application with no guarantee of success, but at least one councillor came out strongly against spending Centre Wellington infrastructure cash on a park project in this community.
Councillor Walt Visser said he has been trying to get a sideroad paved in the community for nearly nine years, and sees no reason why the township should instead work on a parks project.
The township voted 4-1 to seek a Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) grant of $1.53-million from the federal government. With local contributions, that would create an amphitheatre in the summer for Elora Festival concerts, a covered 7,000 square foot ice rink with refrigeration equipment for the winter, rink boards and nets, a rink rover and ice tractor resurfacer. The last two would come at no cost.
Parks and Recreation Director Andy Goldie told council Bissell Park was named the top priority last June for a CAF grant application. It was turned down in the first round of CAf funding.
Goldie added staff had met after receiving notice on Dec. 15 and decided Bissell Park was the only project that was ready to go. All work would have to be completed by March 31, according to CAF rules.
The funding breakdown would be:
– $758,000 from the township;
– $125,000 from the Grand River Agricultural Society;
– $50,000 pledged by the Elora Lions Club;
– $ 600,000 from the Elora Festival; and
– $1.53-million from the federal government.
Goldie said the project could make a significant difference for the community, and would likely help attract tourists, particularly in the summer. He said the festival currently uses the county salt shed, known as the Gambrel Barn, for major concerts but it needs its own home and the shed will not be there forever.
He said a such a shelter could be used for a number of community events, including Sensational Elora.
“There’s lots of opportunity,” said Goldie. He added work has already been done to determine the best way to provide great acoustics for the concerts.
“We’ve ensured the facility will work,” he said, explaining that while some people like music, others do not, and the design will ensure the music does not bother neighbours.
He said there would be “a fair amount of glass [in the building] to keep it light and airy.” At one end there would be washrooms and change rooms, and the building would be flexible so parts could be opened while others are closed.
The rink in the park has been generally used by skaters and for pick-up hockey games. Goldie said the ice surface will be about half the size of an NHL rink, and would continue with its current purpose, with perhaps ten hours a week dedicated for minor hockey practices.
He noted that on a day like Jan. 14, the ice was unusable because of the warm temperatures, and it could take weeks to get it back. With a covered ice pad and refrigeration, that would not happen. He added in an interview later that natural ice is constantly changing hardness and softness, which is hard on skate sharpness. That, too, would be eliminated.
Goldie told council the facility could be used every day of the year and even attract conventions, and it would become a good tourist draw.
Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj made it clear after Goldie’s presentation that the township was making only a grant application, and there would be a full council debate about spending the money if the township gets the grant.
Councillor Shawn Watters said it has been a long two years of planning to reach this point, and the proposal is “a good News thing. It speaks highly of our strategic plan.”
He said that plan identified that the township had to pursue partnerships to develop Bissell Park, and that was done. He noted the plan said services must be “the right service at the right cost for the community. It will be a tremendous program for our community.”
But Visser had “a lot of questions and a lot of objections.” He wondered why the council meeting to discuss the issue had been moved to Thursday, when, he said, three councillors that opposed the plan were to be absent. “Monday, they were all ready to be here,” he said of councillors Bob Foster and Rn Hallman, and added that he, too, had been scheduled to be elsewhere that afternoon.
Visser also said the plan would “jam up a major thoroughfare” in Elora, annoy neighbours with noise, and he also complained that the spending on roads in the township last year was lower than it was in 1999.
Councillor Fred Morris objected and asked for a point of order.
But Visser said, “If we approve this, that’s the way it is going. The money coming out of slots” is earmarked for infrastructure, and he concluded, “This proposal is a threat to our roads and bridges.”
Ross-Zuj reminded Visser that council will still have to approve the spending on the park – if it gets the grant. “We’re a long way from approving the project.”
She added that such spending does apply to infrastructure because “tourism is one of our top industries.”
She said of Visser’s complaint about the hurry for the approval, “We know how adaptable we must be when the provincial and federal governments” announce infrastructure grants.
Councillor Fred Morris noted that with the announcement made on Dec. 15 and the break for the holidays, staff did not have much time to prepare a grant application. It was due on Jan. 18.
Ross-Zuj said the Monday council meeting was cancelled because staff had not been able to complete its paperwork for the grant.
“So, there’s no huge conspiracy here,” Morris concluded.
Visser asked for a called vote, and he was the only one opposed. Ross-Zuj and councillors Watters, Morris, and Kirk McElwain were in favour.
