Residents offer input on arena - pool project

Held in the main auditorium at Victoria Hall last Saturday afternoon, the forum on the arena/pool project involved a series of one-hour workshop sessions, beginning every hour on the hour.

The five themes, discussed at different tables throughout the afternoon, were ice rinks (hockey and skating), the swimming pool, concessions, the Teen Centre, and other planning issues.

When the time was up for each session, participants were invited to stay and take part at another table or enjoy refreshments. A supervised playroom was also available for parents who brought children.

Westmount's arena/pool complex was built in the late 1950s and has been on a list of municipal buildings scheduled for renewal for about a decade. Since its original construction, the only major improvement that has been made was the replacement of the concrete slab on the rink in the arena.

"While it's still operational, as many of you know, it is to some extent held together with bubble gum and glue," Mayor Karin Marks said when welcoming residents. "There is a whole host of considerations that need to be addressed and it goes well beyond the issue of applying another coat of paint or hoping that the pool doesn't leak yet again."

Marks said the City is "really looking at the entire re-building of the arena/pool facility and the supporting infrastructure … Even though the existing arena/pool facility is tired, the fact that it's used by so many thousands of our residents each year indicates that it is a popular facility."

She said the City was also looking for input on other municipal sports facilities that residents might be familiar with, and that a poll will eventually be conducted on the impact the project could have on taxes.

"There are limits to what we can do, but we want to hear everything first and then see what's really possible," Marks told the Examiner. "This is the way to make sure we get as much input as possible. After all, these are the people who use it."

Marks acknowledged that Westmount went to greater lengths than usual in developing its consultation model for the pool/arena project.

Whereas in the past the City might hold a forum with an open microphone, last Saturday's consultation was more carefully planned and local media were limited in their access. "It seemed to be the best one for this particular facility, for the kinds of things that we wanted to find out," she said.

Marks said city council will know the results of the consultation in two weeks, although no date has been set when they will be shared with residents.

"There's certainly nothing to hide in it," she said. "Everybody who's here is going to know about it. But the first thing for us to do is for us to look at it together and try and see what does it tell us."

Mavis Young, a resident of Melville Avenue who took part in efforts by Save the Park to prevent synthetic turf from being installed in Westmount Park, said she was pleased overall with last Saturday's consultation, although she still had reservations.

"I think we're all very pleased to be able to come here today, because I think it shows the City is kind of following the advice of what Save the Park has always said — give the community a chance to have input before these projects are finalized," Young said.

But she added, "We expected to have an overview of where the City is at, and instead I find already there are five focus groups dealing with some information that we've never even seen before today … I would like to see a more global view of the overall impact … This is a very, very controlled process, and from that angle it's a bit disappointing."