COLLINGWOOD – A couple of hundred people turned out in front of town hall, Monday night, to tell councillors to do it once, and do it right.

‘It’ is the direction council is taking with recreational facilities, and its Aug. 27 decision to buy two architectural membrane structures from Sprung Structures – one to cover Centennial Pool, and the second for a new arena in Central Park.

That will cost $10.6 million, plus another million - approximately - for site servicing. Municipal officials expect funding to come from a combination of development charges, and $1.5 million that had been set aside for the new pool at the Y. Municipal staff have also suggested the $8 million in cash realized from the sale of 50% of Collus Power to PowerStream could be put toward the project, thereby not needing to rely on tax dollars.

The town is also spending about $3.5 million to upgrade the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena - including the installation of a concrete floor - and have applied to a federal recreation infrastructure program for up to $1 million in funding.

Steve Berman, who spent the weekend rallying people on a Facebook page, said he still feels there are unanswered questions to council’s decision – namely the urgency in making the decision, without the opportunity for public input, and the decision to sole-source the purchase of the two buildings.

“It just feels like this was rushed through,” he said, as people – some with children in tow – started showing up in front of the municipal building for the 4 p.m. start of the rally, prior to council’s meeting. “There is no valid reason why this can’t be put on hold for six-to-eight weeks.”

Berman promised that if it’s a ‘done deal’ with Sprung, he will “not forget, I will not let it go away. It’s two years until the next election, and I will keep this in the forefront unless those questions are answered.”

The crowd — organizers say 225 people came out — circled in front of town hall for about 20 minutes, chanting “do it once, do it right,” before Dr. Geoff Moran, who is the new head of Friends of Central Park Project, spoke.

Moran said his group wants to see “a proper process.”

A second rally will be held next Monday prior to the council meeting, with attendees encouraged to walk from Central Park to town hall. Moran said he’s also asked to speak to council next Monday.

“We’re asking (council) to consider all points before moving on and making a decision,” said Moran. “Unless we have an opportunity to express that point of view, this is not a democracy.

“We want a competitive bidding process, not a solution that could costs us more, and a council that will listen to our voice,” he said. “We’ve spent a long time looking at recreation, and all we’re asking is that council listen to our opinion.”

Poll

Do you feel the public had enough input into rec facility decision?

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

0% 0 votes	Yes
0% 0 votes	No