12 March 3, 2012 - ObserverXtra

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012
Township unveils plans for accessible playground
Proposed location in Gibson Park has some neighbours concerned about proximity to their homes
FREE
JAmes JAcKson
After more than a
year and a half of successful
fundraising efforts and
community engagement, it
seems that the Kate’s Kause
universal playground project
has hit its first snag.
On the evening of Feb. 23
the Township of Woolwich
hosted an open-house meeting
to give residents the
opportunity to see a very
preliminary plan for the
universally accessible playground
that is to be built in
Elmira’s Gibson Park.
Of the approximately 55
people who attended, there
were a handful of residents
who voiced some concerns
over the location in the
green space on the west
side of the creek that runs
through the middle of the
park.
Originally hoping to
raise $250,000 over five
years, Kate’s Kause found
considerable public support,
collecting $265,000 in
just 15 months. Given the
response, the goal is now
$500,000, which would allow
for a larger facility, including
a splash pad.
“There were some people
that offered suggestions
to look at the other side of
the creek, the east side of
the park versus the west,
which we certainly will look
at,” said Karen Makela, the
township’s director of recre-
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ation and facilities, adding
that “95 per cent of those
who attended were overwhelmingly
in support of
the project and location.”
The residents who did
voice concerns said they
were under the impression
that the new park would be
built closer to the existing
playground equipment as a
way of enhancing the existing
structure, and that the
green space would be left
untouched.
While the township had
it in mind to build the playground
and splash pad adjacent
to Lions Hall, near the
Woolwich Memorial Centre,
that site was deemed unsuitable
due to space constraints
and the lack of tree
cover for shade.
Makela said she did have
some discussions with
residents who shared those
concerns, and all who attended
were provided with
comment sheets to fill out
to ensure staff was aware of
the concerns before moving
forward.
The rec. director emphasized
that the diagram
presented to the public at
the meeting was very preliminary,
wasn’t to scale,
and the township hasn’t
even had the site properly
surveyed yet. Rather, the
diagram was to provide a
rough idea of where the
proposed playground equipment
and splash pad might
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The preliminary plans for the Kate’s Kause universally accessible playground proposed for Gibson Park. The drawing is not to scale, and the placement of the park has raised some concerns
for local homeowners.
go once construction gets
underway.
“We didn’t want to put
any money in until this has
been approved as the selected
site, and we weren’t
at that stage yet.”
The township must now
find a way to balance the
concerns of the few with
the many endorsements
that they received. Makela
said that they are “darned
if they do, and darned if
they don’t” with regards to
where the park ends up, as
moving it on the east side
of the creek would mean
that many mature trees
would need to be cut down
to make space for the equipment,
and that portions
of the existing playground
structure would need to be
removed.
“The reason we looked at
that location was primarily
because it was flat and al-
GRCA approves stand-pat budget for 2012
JAmes JAcKson
In this era of belt-tightening
budgets, the Grand
River Conservation Authority
has decided to stand pat
on their 2012 budget, calling
for a slight reduction in
total spending.
Passed by the GRCA
board on Feb. 24, the 2012
budget will be $32.8 million,
slightly lower than
2011’s budget of $33.6 million.
The board consists of
26 members appointed by
municipalities across the
watershed.
“As we were going
through draft versions of
the budget at the tail end of
last year and the beginning
of this year we were getting
a lot of feedback from
our municipal representatives
and municipalities
throughout the watershed,
saying that the closer to a
minimal increase the better,”
said Cam Linwood,
communications coordinator
at the GRCA.
Much of the reduction
in the budget is the result
of the scheduled reduction
in provincial grants for the
Drinking Water Source Protection
Program. Last year
the province contributed
$3.2 million to the project,
and that number will fall to
$2.6 million this year.
The charges applied to
municipalities will rise
by approximately three
per cent compared to 2011
with about $9.75 million,
or 30 per cent of total ex-
penditures, coming from
residents of the watershed
through their local property
taxes or their municipal
water bills. The total cost to
each resident works out to
about $10.05.
The GRCA also collects
about $13.8 million in selfgenerated
revenues from
camping and other service
fees, as well as land rentals,
hydroelectricity, payments
from school boards for
educational programming,
and donations to the Grand
ready open,” she said of the
green space. “If we go to the
other side and start taking
down trees, we’ll be having
people screaming at us for
that, so you really have to
weigh the comments of one
or two.”
Another sticking point
is the fact that two of the
grants Kate’s Kause received
have time limits attached
to them: a $60,000 grant
from Aviva Insurance has to
River Conservation Foundation.
Government grants account
for about $7.1 million
and cover core programs
such as flood warnings and
dam maintenance, and the
remainder of the budget
(approximately $2 million)
comes from GRCA reserve
funds comprised of money
set aside in previous years.
Despite the drop in funding,
the GRCA still has numerous
projects on tap for
2012, including the recon-
be put to use by year’s end,
while a $25,000 grant from
The Keg has a June deadline,
meaning a decision
needs to be made sooner
rather than later in order to
get shovels in the ground by
spring.
Makela said that she has
a team working on reviewing
the material collected
during the open house and
will be delivering a report to
council soon.
struction of the Drimmie
Dam in Elora, scheduled
to cost $1.1 million with
the province contributing
half and the Township of
Centre Wellington paying
$200,000. Other projects
include restoration programs
at Conestogo Lake
($110,000) and the Luther
Marsh Wildlife Management
Area ($178,000) and
the design if an emergency
spillway at Conestogo Dam
gRcA | 4
SAMER MIKHAIL
PHARMACIST /OWNER
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