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Town working towards completion of parks & rec master plan

March 6, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

A ten-year master plan for the Town of Orangeville’s parks and recreation department is nearing completion.

Commissioned back in spring 2019, the plan will provide a “complete and comprehensive” review of the municipality’s parks and recreation facilities and programs, and both recommend and prioritize potential projects between 2020 and 2030, according to Ray Osmond, the Town’s General Manager of Community Services. 

“This document will look at all Town-owned facilities, and all Town-operated programs. The last time we completed a plan like this was in 2010, so it has been 10 years,” Mr. Osmond told Council during budget deliberations back in late 2018. “The intent is to take a full picture of all of our services across the department.”

The Town created a master plan steering committee to help oversee the project. Toronto-based consultancy firm Thinc Design were retained to assist with the facilitation of community consultation and participation, evaluate the needs and wants of the community, make recommendations and prepare a final plan for approval. All in all, the project is set to cost the Town approximately $75,000. 

In a news release distributed on Tuesday, Town officials say the project is currently in the third of four planned phases, with a final report expected in May. So far, hundreds of local residents have participated in the process, with the Town reporting that 400 phone surveys and 568 online surveys have been completed since October. 

Open houses, held in November and February, also helped to generate input and feedback from the public. 

“Each of these consultation activities investigated the community’s needs and interests for new and/or improved recreational facilities, parks and programs,” the Town release states. “Reports will be prepared at various points in the process, and will lead to the creation of the final master plan working document.”

That final document will include recommendations for Tony Rose Arena and Alder Recreation Centre. It has been noted, on several occasions inside Council chambers, that Tony Rose requires significant investment, of around $2.7 million as reported by Mr. Osmond late last year, if the Town is to continue operating the facility. 

As for Alder, it was reported back in October that the Town would be applying for a joint federal and provincial grant to complete a $35 million renovation at the facility. 

Specifically earmarked in the $35 million project is the construction of a third, 35,000 sq. ft. double ice pad, which Mr. Osmond states will help to accommodate recreational hockey, minor boys’ and girls’ hockey, skate training and leisure activities; expand the existing six lane swimming pool to eight lanes; replace the pool liner in the leisure pool; remove the existing wet slide at the pool to accommodate the installation of an indoor spray pad and water play structure; and pave the way for various mechanical upgrades and aquatic accessory purchases.

Also outlined in the plan is a proposed renovation, rehabilitation and upgrade of the existing refrigeration system at Alder, with a view to installing new technology designed to recycle 100 percent of the energy used to maintain the ice surfaces back into the building’s heating and air conditioning systems. This proposal will also include providing heat transfer to the pool water, hot water for showers, underfloor heating, ice resurfacing water, and snow melting technology. 

The application also includes plans to repurpose and upgrade the existing public library space at the facility; upgrade the multi-purpose room space currently used by Humber College; and potentially expand and/or resurface the current parking lot, which could include the construction of a new parking space on the eastern side of the building. 

While both the federal and provincial governments would cover the bulk of the cost of this project through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) initiative, $14 million (federal) and $11.6 million (province) respectively, the Town would still be expected to chip in $9.3 million.

For more information about the master plan project, contact Sharon Doherty, the Town’s manager of recreation and events, at sdoherty@orangeville.ca, or 519-940-9092 ext. 4106.

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