Future being laid out for town rec facilities

By MORGAN IAN ADAMS Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin January 14 2011
COLLINGWOOD — Town councillors will be given the “next steps” on the future of recreational facilities — including the municipality’s commitment to the Collingwood YMCA — in another week-and-a-half.
Chief Administrative Officer Kim Wingrove informed council on Monday night that staff was working on a review of “stakeholder priorities”; that is expected to go hand-in-hand with a business plan for several municipal facilities — including the town-owned fitness facility that has been shut down for the last four months — to be presented during council’s budget discussions.
“In the last 18 months, the circumstances with (recreational) facilities has changed,” said Wingrove. “It is important to take a step back and recognize the challenges, and the opportunities.”
Wingrove also indicated she would be meeting with representatives of the Simcoe-Muskoka YMCA on Tuesday to discuss their request from before Christmas that the town defer it’s $1.5 million commitment to the Collingwood Y’s expansion to this year. Originally, the town’s commitment was predicated on the Y signing a construction contract before the end of 2010; Y CEO Tom Coon told council at its meeting prior to Christmas that changes to the project’s parameters — notably the plans for the pool area — and slower-than- anticipated fundraising had resulted in delays.
The town’s financial commitment would have been drawn from its general reserve account, and would not have affected the town’s operational bottom line.
Councillor Keith Hull wanted to make sure Y representatives stayed at the table — regardless of whether the town makes its contribution or not.
“We have an opportunity to continue to work with the Y, but I don’t want it to reach a point where they’re frustrated with us and they walk away,” he said, adding he would like to see other stake-h olders at the table — such as the Collingwood Clipper swim team, which has indicated they would contribute financially to the project — at the same time.
“If we learned anything from the past, is that we have to have all the players at the table, speaking to one another,” he told the E-B in a follow-up interview. “It’s no good to have someone come out of the woodwork later and say they were never engaged, never consulted.”
Hull noted the town has a long history, when it comes to recreational facilities, of heading one direction, stopping, and heading into another direction and stopping — and never accomplishing anything.
“I feel we have a good working relationship with the Y, and I want to make sure that dialogue continues,” said Hull, adding he is looking forward to the report on recreational facilities; “I think that should shed quite a bit of light on the conversations (staff )) have had with the Y.”
Wingrove said the discussion with Y representatives on Tuesday would include a look at the needs of both the Y and the town, “the financial situation… and the ability to look creatively at the potential for that site.”
 She said the report being presented to council on Jan. 24 will lay out staff’s position on how the town should move forward in regard to several municipal facilities, and glean feedback from the politicians. That is likely to form the basis for a final report to come back to council during budget time.
“We have several facilities that need a capital investment, and we have to make sure that investment is aligned with what the public is looking for in the way of recreational programming,” said Wingrove.
Deputy-mayor Rick Lloyd, the nominal chair of the budget process, said he believes the “future of our recreational facilities is in private partnerships.
“We can’t do it on our own,” he said. “The Y is one option, but at this point I also can’t support any capital spending, period, until we look at the budget in its entirety.
“We have to make sure we have enough general reserves in place for our own operation,” he said. “That’s not anti-Y, but it is pro-citizens of Collingwood, and the important thing right now is we look at the whole financial picture.”
Lloyd said the proposed wellness facility at Heritage Park became “some-t hing of a fiasco” with the money invested in servicing, and that the previous council didn’t appear to have a coherent vision with its recreational facilities.
“We need a proper business plan, and that’s what (Wingrove and her team) are working toward, so we can make an informed decision,” he said. “We need to build recreational facilities that meet the needs of the community, but we need to fund them without it becoming a burden to taxpayers.”