Multi-use recreation facility needs early planning, groundwork

A new multi-use facility may be in the works for Windsor/ West Hants, but not for some time to come – or even, if ever.

However, one working group may be prepared to determine what kind of recreational facility will best meet the needs of residents.

Community stakeholders came together last week to brainstorm the possibilities, not just now, but for future generations to come. “This is really in the very beginning stages,” said Randy Hussey, one of those behind the move to get things started. The working group currently exists under the Rotary Club umbrella. “Right now we don't know what this will amount to,” Hussey said, “if anything.” Either way, he said, if the need is there the time to start planning is now. “This is a very long process, we’re talking six to seven years down the road. But if we don't start now, where we will be in 10 years time?”

With the Windsor War Memorial Community Centre in need of repair and ice time at the Exhibition Arena at a premium there needs to be more resources, he said. And because Windsor is a growth area, it is reasonable to assume current recreational infrastructure may not meet the needs of an expanding population. “If we are going to create new facilitates, what ever they are, it just makes sense to do it all at once and house them all under one roof rather than building them separately.”

Enthusiastic turnout

There was a large and enthusiastic turn out during the October meeting, which included representatives from the Agricultural Society, Windsor Elms, Minor Hockey Association and the Windsor Royals, Hants Learning Network, Mermaid Theatre, Hants RDA, Kings Edgehill School and the Windsor Daycare.

Hussey said all groups present expressed an interest in furthering more accessible recreational development which could also draw more events to the area, including indoor soccer, football and walking turfs, basketball courts and meeting /community rooms.

Mike Trinacty of Nova Scotia Heath Promotion and Protection (HPP) for the Valley area was invited to outline the process. His assistant Tracy Roberts later said the meeting was more or less what they call a visioning session and the HPP’s role that evening was to help create a 'how to map' of project planning. “Our function is really to consult and advise. We are the conduit, the tool to help communities move forward and identify what those future needs may be,” Roberts said. The focus group that evening was more about getting people to start thinking about why they might need a facility, what kind of facility would they need in future years and how move to those ideas forward.

Windsor does have a new Aquatic Centre and curling club, which were both large capital investment projects, she said. “What the community needs to look at now are those existing facilities which no longer meet the future demands of the community.”

Look at trends

Roberts noted as well, the importance of access to what the recreation trends are and how the community would meet them. “There needs to be a market assessment the reflects the age population and demographic of the community against existing resources and program delivery.”

Any new large-scale project, Roberts said, must start first with a needs assessment and a feasibility study to determine if the community can sustain any new infrastructure. And that all takes time -- up to 10 years, in fact.

Windsor Mayor Paul Beazley says if the town does not start planning now, residents will be left in need in future years. “If we would have thought it through 10 years ago, we would have been well prepared when it came time to build a new pool, library and curling club; they could have been built together at the same time.”

He noted that the Exhibition Arena can no longer sustain the needs of the local hockey teams and is the working group’s number one priority. “The Windsor rink has a finite life expectancy so the question is, do we replace it or renovate? And if we do that what other facilities might we need to look at as well.”

The feasibility study could take up to four years to complete at a cost of $15,000 with HPP kicking in half the cost. “It’s better to fundraise for that eight to 10 thousand now if it gives you the legitimacy to work toward a future facility,” Beazley said.