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Councillors vote 6-3 to reconsider

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The idea of building a multi-million dollar complex in Simcoe to replace the town’s aging recreation infrastructure is back on the rails.

At Norfolk council Tuesday, Delhi Coun. Mike Columbus tabled a motion to reconsider a vote Jan. 30 that effectively shelved the idea of a recreation hub indefinitely.

Significant discontent with this decision has been expressed since then. Council took that into consideration Tuesday in providing the two-thirds supermajority needed to revisit a decision in the same calendar year. The vote to resurrect the discussion was approved by a margin of 6-3.

“I don’t know where we’re going to end up,” Mayor Charlie Luke said. “But we’re on a path to replace some of our 50-year-old recreational infrastructure. It just happens to be in Simcoe.

“If we don’t move forward, we fall behind. In my opinion, we have fallen behind.”

The hub concept is the idea of moving on from the aging recreational infrastructure in Simcoe and replacing it with modern facilities in a single location.

It is too early to say what that might look like, but some have suggested a $50-million multi-use complex on 25-acres of serviced land within the urban boundary of Simcoe.

Such a complex could feature a state-of-the-art aquatic centre, a twin-pad arena, a community gymnasium with indoor walking track and tennis and volleyball courts, and a new Simcoe Seniors Centre to replace the aging facility on Pond Street.

Columbus’s motion allows for flexibility. This includes dividing the hub concept into individual projects and situating them in separate locations where appropriate.

“There seems to be significant support for a facility like this,” Windham Coun. Jim Oliver, chair of Norfolk’s subcommittee on recreation infrastructure, said. “People would use it. This allows us to continue the process. That’s all the Jan. 30 motion committed us to do.”

Oliver added that Norfolk has received new, relevant information about recreation infrastructure since the January vote.

This includes news that the federal government, in partnership with the provinces, has announced a multi-billion dollar, 10-year infrastructure program that will accommodate proposals for new recreational facilities.

Under the program, Ottawa could fund as much as 40 per cent of the value of a project while provinces would be expected to commit a third. That leaves municipalities paying as little as 27 per cent.

Luke said the background material on the application process runs to more than 100 pages.

Municipal applications for funding could run to hundreds of pages. In the case of an ambitious project such as a recreational hub, a proper application will require time and the services of consultants on a number of fronts.

“The way forward is to line up every single duck and file one application,” Norfolk CAO David Cribbs said.

“The application has to be complete. The first question will be `What is the address?’ The last item will concern financing. For this project to succeed, we have to have all our ducks in a row and have it shovel ready.”

The ongoing examination of the recreational hub concept ground to a halt Jan. 30 when Couns. Doug Brunton, Harold Sonnenberg, Noel Haydt, Roger Geysens and Mike Columbus voted to suspend the process.

Holding firm in their opposition to resurrecting the project Tuesday were Couns. Sonnenberg, Geysens and Haydt. Coun. Brunton joined Coun. Columbus in supporting another look at the idea.

MSonnenberg@postmedia.com  

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