GuelphToday received the following letter from reader Monica Chamberlain, who expressed dissapointment in council's decision to close the Larry Pearson park and it's ammenities for construction:
I was very disappointed to read, in yesterday's article in GuelphToday, that Larry Pearson park and it's many amenities (ball diamonds, splash pads, playground, tennis courts, etc.) will be closed to the public in 2022 and 2023 if construction of the South End Community Centre begins in 2022.
The site for the community centre was identified long ago. It seems to be poor planning to have to shut down one major community recreation location in order to build a long-ago needed indoor facility.
I urge the city to look at the possibility of building a temporary gravel road on the other side of Bishop Macdonell high school to allow the public access to their park during construction of the new facility.
I also urge the city to release to the public, the proposed long term cost savings of making the community centre environmentally friendly. Our society does need to protect the environment, but a $6 miliion-plus increase in cost should also be justified financially to the public. The development fees are actually paid by the taxpayers who bought the houses in the south end; meaning that the whole cost of the community centre is paid for by taxpayers. Will the 15 per cent of the cost paid for directly by taxpayers mean an increase in taxes for the whole city, or is this facility in the long term plan that has already been considered as part of each year's city budget?
I realize that cost refinements are necessary and that inflationary costs are accrued each year, once the planning process starts. I urge the city to consider these added costs sooner in the process, rather than reporting increased costs for projects each year.
Monica Chamberlain
Guelph
