CH Council to reconsider new sports pad after closure of Clinton pool

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Not all of Central Huron Council is happy with the direction taken regarding the Clinton pool at council’s June 25 special meeting.
At that meeting, council decided to not pursue a new pool with an anticipated price tag of more than $5 million and not offer an alternative in its place, such as a smaller, cheaper pool or a sports pad. Council chose to simply decommission the pool, plant grass on the land and use the existing building for municipal seasonal storage.

 

However, at council’s July 2 meeting, Deputy-Mayor Marg Anderson asked about the procedure through which council could have the original motion for a more detailed report on a new pool back on the table for discussion. Clerk Rachel Anstett said it would be tricky, in that one of the dissenting councillors would have to put a motion forward before it could return after council already made a firm decision on the matter.

 

Since that was not an option at the July 2 meeting, Councillor Jennifer Cox asked about revisiting the possibility of building a new sports pad in place of the pool, a motion that was discussed briefly at the June 25 meeting, but never formally voted on by council. Cox said that after the pool vote, she had been approached by a community member who wondered about pursuing a sports pad with the blessing of council, but searching for private funding that wouldn’t tie up tax dollars.

 

Council didn’t make a formal decision on the prospect of a new sports pad, but did direct staff to return with a report on the possibility for council to consider.

 

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After changing from the Clinton Business Improvement Area to encompass all of Central Huron several years ago, the local business organization may revert back after a steep drop-off in associate memberships.

 

Central Huron Council discussed the issue at its July 2 meeting with Councillors Michael Russo and Jennifer Cox, the BIA’s liaison to council, telling council that the BIA has expressed interest in returning to its core mandate of keeping Clinton’s downtown core beautiful. 

 

When the BIA expanded to include all of the municipality, associate memberships were offered to businesses within the municipality, but outside of Clinton’s downtown core, in communities such as Londesborough, Holmesville and beyond.
Treasurer Jeff Boyes told council that the initial draw for businesses to join as associate members was a package deal for radio advertising - an offer that has since dried up. As a result, Cox and Boyes said they couldn’t be 100 per cent sure, but they thought no associate members from outside of Clinton’s downtown core remained in the BIA.

 

As a result, council asked for staff to report back on the issue and the possibility of the BIA reverting back to being the Clinton BIA so it can better focus on its goals within Clinton.