"All we wanted was a bigger room!"
That was the request made by the Seniors a couple of years ago. Council responded with a plan to spend $2 million and that was panned by many, mainly because it was not an inclusive plan. Now the plan has been hijacked by two sets of interests: the Hockeyjocks and the YMCA expansionists.Look carefully for the hidden costs. The plan calls for 2 rinks, a gymnasium, a meeting room, a lawn bowling plan and hopes for expansion. The plan on the left is estimated at $30 million - all to be paid for by taxpayers. Not in the plan is the cost of three (yep count 'em they're on the plan) new soccer fields and the proposed joint? aquatic centre for the member owned YMCA. Now the cost is inestimable but not unbelievable at $50 million. And remember we started off this exercise with the Seniors asking for more room. Something that could have been accommodated with better coordination of public and private spaces. But you know how Pols of all stripes love Arenas. I can't imagine the number of silver shovels already ordered for the official opening.
The questions before us is this - can we afford it? And why are we pandering to the Hockey people when they are a small demographic group in comparison to others, like soccer players and Seniors? Is it unCanadian to treat hockey people like others and not bow down to their insatiable demands for better facilities. Or is it because it is Hockey we give the national sport anything it wants?
An interesting committee has been set up in Campbellford. The brightest brains in C'ford have been put together to chart the recovery of the Town from the abyss of economic doom read about it here I hope they come up with something or else it's back to the musings of "King Hec".
The questions before us is this - can we afford it? And why are we pandering to the Hockey people when they are a small demographic group in comparison to others, like soccer players and Seniors? Is it unCanadian to treat hockey people like others and not bow down to their insatiable demands for better facilities. Or is it because it is Hockey we give the national sport anything it wants?
An interesting committee has been set up in Campbellford. The brightest brains in C'ford have been put together to chart the recovery of the Town from the abyss of economic doom read about it here I hope they come up with something or else it's back to the musings of "King Hec".
5 comments:
Sheesh, Ben, the subject line of this posting says everything that needs to be said about what has happened. Can't get any better than that. Good one.
I can't seem to understand what's wrong with this centre.
It seems to have something for everyone. Sure, it looks like most of it is rink, because rinks are big. There appears to be senior space, youth space and non hockey space too.
I can understand you being upset that it's not just a senior's centre, if you allow me to be upset if it was just a senior's centre. I'm not a senior (and don't plan on being one for a while)and fail to see the need for a dedicated centre for a small portion of the population when we can have so much more.
I know that it will cost a ton of money, but it's better that me paying for a building I won't be using any time soon
I'm not upset because it was not just a Seniors centre, I spoke against that concept because it was not inclusive. I am upset because of the size and cost. There are cheaper alternatives. For example, if the Seniors needed more space it was available, just not in one place. A Coordinator could have been hired to inventory the empty available space: the market building, the lions centre, the oddfellows hall, the knights of Columbus Hall, Victoria Hall and other empty commercial space. All that had to be done was to use it efficiently and allocate meeting times for all. A simple computer scheduling program perhaps.
If we need more rink space it can be provided cheaper than building a multi purpose facility. We have two High Schools with gyms and indoor tracks. Why do we have to spend so much money just to build big. That's why I am upset.
I agree with you why should we build a building you may not use. If you need more rink space let's talk about that and not confuse the issue.
Hocke isn't "our national sport", Ben -lacrosse is.
And while "hockey people" may represent a small demographic group, they're a noisy one. As a matter of fact, sometimes I think this area is run by The 4-H Club: Hockey, Horton's, Heroes and Hearses.
Dan Christie
If the fee structure at the new community centre on D'arcy St mirrors the fees at the current Family Y on Elgin St, it will NOT be accessible to low income and average income families in Cobourg and area. I thought such accessibility was one of the goals cited among reasons both for building it in the first place and for locating it where it is ... within a short walk of a concentration of many of the lowest income families in Cobourg.
Post a Comment