View - The Municipality of Lambton Shores

the community. Other programs would include summer and winter camps for children
ages 6 to 13 as well as tutoring and athletic programs during the school year.
The YMCA confirmed that their programming would be designed so as not to compete
with any other local service providers in the Grand Bend Area, and that they would want
to partner with other providers in the area for their day camp activities. The YMCA has
further confirmed that should the Grand Bend Youth Centre prove to be a success, they
would consider extending their services into the other communities of Lambton Shores.
The partnership as outlined above was presented to Council at the April 2 and April 16,
2012 regular council meetings. At the Council meeting on April 16, 2012 Council passed
the following motion:
12-0416-11 Moved by: Councillor Underwood
Seconded by: Councillor Maguire
That Council authorize staff to sign the Memorandum of Understanding and
request a formal agreement be drafted, with the understanding that nothing is
binding until the formal agreement is approved. Carried
During Council’s discussion several concerns were raised, including but not limited to
the capital requirements needed to upgrade the building, and the financial risk that the
Municipality may face if there is not sufficient funding to operate the centre.
Recognizing these concerns, staff has approached the Optimist Club and proposed that
the municipality partner with the Optimist Club directly by providing a grant for the
operation of the Youth Centre. This removes the municipality from having to sign an
agreement with the YMCA, and leaves the Optimist Club with the flexibility to partner
with a programming partner of their choice. The municipality’s only financial obligation
would be a $5,000 annual grant.
Relationship to the Recreation and Leisure Master Plan
During meetings with Lambton Shores’ staff, the Optimist Club has indicated that
without the support of an outside source they will no longer be able to keep the Youth
Centre in operation. This is a result of their frequent challenge of finding staff to run the
programming.
The closure of the Youth Centre would result in a large programming gap for the youth
of Grand Bend and the immediate surrounding area. Although the youth market for this
area is considered to be small (210 youth according to the 2009 Census projections),
the impact of the cancellation of the Winter, Spring and now Summer programs as a
direct result of staffing issues has been significant. Both the Municipality and Optimist
Club have received numerous inquires about programming at the Youth Centre. The
Optimist Club is going to try to run a couple of camps this summer in hope to keep the
interest in the Centre alive.
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