Residents sharply divided over WAG proposal for pool/arena site

The already controversial issue became even more volatile recently when City Councillor Patrick Martin suggested that the new arena could be built on the Westmount Athletics Grounds (WAG) behind Westmount High School.

This has aroused some sharply divided opinions in the community, and both supporters and opponents of Martin's suggestion crowded the council chamber for Monday's regular monthly meeting. “I’d like to know why the issue of building an arena on the WAG is coming up in the public domain in the form of newspaper articles when clearly the council had voted it down,” Wanda Konarski said to Mayor Karin Marks, drawing loud applause from those in the standing-room crowd who are against Martin's proposal.

Konarski was referring to Martin's plan, outlined in a recently published article, in which he said Westmount should seriously consider the WAG as an alternative to keeping the pool/arena where it is now at the southwestern end of Westmount Park. He maintains that doing so could save $8 million.

While Martin’s idea has the support of councillors Kathleen Duncan and Cynthia Lulham, Mayor Karin Marks has denounced it as going against the wishes of a majority of council members who feel constructing on the WAG would violate the principle of not building on green space. She also has said that no studies have been done to support Martin’s position and that council voted his position down during a closed-door meeting. “Some of us on council have been alarmed by the increased costs associated with trying to shoehorn the facilities that we would like to have onto the current site,” Martin said on Monday, defending his point. “Since this kind of arena can perhaps be built more cheaply in other parts of Canada, we don’t understand why it would cost so much here. Can we not see what would it cost to put it on a different site so we can compare?”

Nonetheless, insisted Konarski, “The idea of taking over a green space when there’s so little in our city, because it’s a downtown city, is I think very contrary to the sustainability mission statement that all of you voted for.”

Gary Ikeman, who has serious reservations about the City proceeding with the project as planned, tabled a petition with the signatures of 125 residents who endorse Martin’s view. “There are many people who would not like this, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a fair, honest and rational discussion,” he said.

Aaron Fraser of Hallowell Avenue, immediately next to the proposed WAG site, said, “With all respect to Mr. Ikeman, if we’re going to start getting signatures and start this process, I can assure you I can get 125 signatures in two blocks. “I can understand how we would put a building there when all municipalities around the world are taking away these things and ripping up concrete and ripping up asphalt and building community gardens. It just doesn’t make sense.”