By Cecilia Nasmith
Liam Cragg, Parks and Recreation Ad Hoc Committee chair, got a gratifying response from Alnwick-Haldimand Township council at their Thursday meeting when presenting the draft of his committee's review of the Parks Master Plan.
Working with Janet Sullivan, Jon Ling, Abby Covert, Mary Catherine O'Neill, Bill Ferguson and Jen Keller-Nelson, Cragg presented the 23-page document that boiled down to two priorities.
One is that the township develop a parks-and-recreation strategy with maintenance, inspection and replacement schedules that remain constant. It was suggested a designated employee be accountable and responsible for the parks-and-recreation facilities' on-going maintenance as well as the upkeep and replacement schedules for parks, park assets and park equipment.
The other is that all new developments be community hubs, multi-purpose facilities to attract a larger spectrum of users – and that these hubs should be developed within the three key township areas of Grafton, Centreton and Roseneath.
The report went on to make recommendations in five key areas.
For parks, recommendations include consistent signage at each of the township-owned properties, playgrounds with parks being differentiated from those without, standardized playground equipment for township parks, a 14-year maximum lifespan for such equipment, an upgrade of equipment at Sandy Bay Park in 2020, new naturalized playground equipment at Wicklow beach in 2021, playground equipment to be installed in Roseneath in 2022, a playground to be established in Lakeport in 2023 (possibly in partnership with abutting Cramahe Township), and reaching out for partnerships with services clubs and community organizations to make such equipment possible.
Two parcels of land were recommended for declaration as surplus. Centreton's Centennial Park should be sold, while Stonafton Park on St. Andrew's Drive should undergo some adjustments. The trail downhill to Johnston Court can be repositioned, with the rest of the parcel sold off as as a building lot. In both cases, proceeds should go into parks and recreation projects.
For trails, address accessibility issues, establish a short trail in 2020 to connect Haldimand Court with the ball diamonds, complete discussions with the Roseneath Fairgrounds in 2020 to develop a walking and cycling trail to connect that community to the broader system of trails, explore the possibility of establishing a waterfront trail in 2021 to connect the Nauwatin Nature Preserve with the Wicklow Boat Launch and consider developing an app to promote the township's trails and parks.
For boat launches, develop the Sandy Bay boat launch to the standard established at Wicklow, and refer to all other locations currently called boat launches as Public Access to Rice Lake Via Open Road Allowance (at least in part for liability reasons).
For libraries, consider a new location in a community hub for the Grafton branch with suggested details provided (and, until such time, invest in essential repairs and maintenance at this site). In Centreton, invest in necessary repairs and upgrades, make use of the Centreton Park for library programming, and make space for a small meeting room. For the Roseneath branch, a space-optimization study is suggested with the vision of an expanded library and community hub, with suggested details provided.
Under the broader heading of community centres, recommendations are that each should report to council on a quarterly basis and that the new position of Community Programs Officer be developed, with details on what the position might entail.
They also individually examined specific facilities – Alnwick Civic Centre and Old Firehall, Haldimand Memorial Arena, and community centres in Fenella, Vernonville and Centreton – with recommendations for each.
Perhaps the biggest-ticket item was a 2020 detailed site-assessment study for the arena, with a wish list of possibilities that might be included - a gym with stage (or removable risers), two or more indoor multi-purpose courts, an outdoor multi-purpose pad, library, media room, community room, 25-metre pool, walking track, fitness equipment, showers, climbing wall, therapy pool, seniors' centre, kitchen or banquet hall and refurbishment or retrofitting of the existing arena.
Subsequent sections in the draft report examined budget implications for 2020 and 2021 and set out timelines for tackling some of the recommendations made.
“Our members did due diligence by visiting many of the locations and facilities referred to in the Sierra Report, as well as diving into the township's website, archived materials and reports done by neighouring communities,” Cragg listed.
“This led to informed debate, so we could consider a wide spectrum of possibilities. Collectively, we took on this project as something to add value to our community to try and benefit our residents.”
The township's demographics is a key consideration, he continued, with 60% of its population over the age of 40.
With the exhaustive work of his own committee in mind, Cragg took the opportunity to remind council of the importance of its volunteers – who devote time, energy and expertise to augment the best efforts of the township staff. He urged volunteers be given a positive and stress-free environment in which to offer these services.
“The reports generated by their committees are the voice of your constituents. Failure to acknowledge their efforts will result in a decline in your volunteer base. The message you send by ignoring your volunteers is, 'You don't matter,'” Cragg said.
“We mention this, as a similar committee was formed nine years ago to make recommendations regarding the arena – and nothing was done.
“In speaking with members from that former committee, they were disillusioned by the lack of action with their recommendations.”
Cragg also expressed his dissatisfaction with the arena and township office space being tied together in the current Strategic Plan.
“This was not in the Sierra Report and never formally introduced to us,” he said.
“We find this confusing, as it appears you want recreation capital to build town offices. Our confusion is probably due to the lack of communication on this topic.
“That, combined with the presentation by staff for funding a new arena complex, disregarding our committee's discussions on whether an arena is justified, led us to believe that staff have been working on their own agenda,” he stated.
“These incidents, along with a failure by staff to provide data we requested, raised questions as to whether any value was attributed to the work being done by our group – we bring these comments forward in a public forum, so council and staff can hear our frustration.”
Council members were quick to reassure Cragg, with Councillor Mike Filip offering his compliments.
“I thought you looked at all the possibilities, and I thought you were very open to this situation and that, I think, is the strength of this report – you have brought some new ideas forward that are very laudable.”
Filip noted that some of the recommendations made “are well down the pike already,” such as the website that should be up in early January.
“I wanted to thank you for this report,” he continued.
“It was done without bias, which I really appreciate, and you would be mistaken if you think this report is going to be shuffled to the back of the deck. It's not.”
Filip added his hope that as many of its recommendations can be implemented as financially possible.
“Looking down the road, there are lots of exciting big-picture items, and some tough sledding for council. So thank you very much.”
“This is great for council, because now it gives us something to look at when budget time is coming,” Councillor Greg Booth said.
“I like that you have also put some things that can be done right away, and some over the next few years.”
Acting Mayor Gail Latchford said that councillors could probably be a help just by keeping their ears open when they are out and about, to learn what's planned in other Northumberland communities. For example, she recently heard Campbellford is building a pool and possibly an arena.
“We shouldn't be looking at our township as a stand-alone – we should be looking at neighbouring communities at what facilities they have and where the gaps are, what is needed and what is available,” Cragg agreed.
Cragg told council he hopes to provide a final version of the report within a week or so, and council voted to refer the report to the township's 2020 budget process.
