By Cecilia Nasmith
Before the 2020 Cobourg budget is approved next week, Cobourg resident Keith Oliver urged council at Monday's committee-of-the-whole meeting to put the outdoor fitness park he has campaigned so long for back in.
The support is certainly there, Oliver said, with 1,038 signatures on their petition.
“In each case, they were well versed on the concept of the park, the type of equipment to be used, the various purposes an exercise park can address and achieve and, of course, the price,” Oliver said.
“Less than 10% declined to sign.”
He also reminded council that this concept places 31st on a list of 83 projects in the Waterfront User Needs plan.
“It's safe to say there's a good, solid interest in a fitness park. By excluding the fitness park from the budget, our efforts to raise monetary and in-kind support are now on hold.
“The question we are constantly asked is, where is Cobourg's support?”
A prospective $25,000 grant was being negotiated with one Cobourg service club, he said, a discussion that was cancelled when the project was taken out of the budget.
He spoke of Fit For Life Cobourg programming that is being developed using the fitness-park equipment – a combination that complies exactly with a number of the town's policy objectives – and urged the town to put $25,000 for this purpose back into the budget.
“This would increase the budget by one-tenth of 1%, and it keeps the project alive by confirming the town's support,” Oliver said.
At this time, he noted, the Cobourg Fitness Park Working Group has not heard back on the $25,000 Federal New Horizons grant they applied for in June, and he offered a compromise – include the project in the municipal budget until such time as the success or failure of this grant is known. Should the New Horizons grant come through, the town's $25,000 can be reallocated to other projects.
Councillor Emily Chorley made a counter-offer in a motion that council passed with only Councillors Brian Darling and Nicole Beatty voting against.
Should the New Horizons grant come through, the motion said, council will provide the working group a letter of endorsement in support of their fundraising. Staff will also be instructed to work with the group in applying for future grants.
As well, council will consider allocating $25,000 in support of the project for its 2021 capital budget.
