EZT’s recreation committee brings forward recommendations

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

After two years of meetings and public consultations, East Zorra-Tavistock’s (EZT) recreation advisory committee (RAC) has put forward a motion to council which includes budget dollars.

Among the eight recommendations the committee is submitting for council’s consideration during the 2026 budget deliberations is a communication strategy for recreation. EZT does not currently have any communication professionals on staff or under contract, so what happens with that portion of the motion remains to be seen.

In terms of actual recreation options for residents, the committee is recommending maker classes, drop-in exercise classes, outdoor movie nights and drop-in sports education courses. The committee is also asking for $5,000 for programming start-up costs and a cost-recovery model for anything outside of those costs. The committee is also asking for consideration to be given to evening and weekend programming.

Committee member Meaghan Lichti said communication with residents will be key should council approve the motion.

“We found there are quite a few programs (currently), but a lot of the feedback is people don’t know about them. We talked about a few different ways for people to access information. A key one is using social media more effectively, a dedicated recreation page on the (EZT) website and a recreation newsletter that could be sent out either four or six times a year.”

Lichti said, ideally, residents would be able to subscribe and unsubscribe to a digital newsletter. She added there are benefits to working with community partners like public libraries for maker classes, such as pottery and painting.

“Libraries generally are more than willing to provide programming if they know what the community is interested in. We also thought it could potentially be a partnership with the library and township to offer township spaces bigger than the library, such as the Memorial Hall for the kitchen or the upper hall at the arena, which has a kitchen.”

She also mentioned teaming up with schools to offer basketball and volleyball programs, along with the use of an app for people to sign up for activities. Evening yoga classes and pickleball are also priorities should the township go ahead with the committee’s plan.

“We know there are quite a few pickleball offerings in Tavistock, but they really aren’t accessible for adults. The majority of people on the survey who want it are between the ages of 35 and 64, so we are assuming they are working. We thought an evening drop-in pickleball would be a good addition,” added Lichti, who also advised the township to get a communications plan implemented before offering any recreation options.

Committee chair and Hickson resident Kyle Smith said it feels good to have another round of recommendations heading to council for consideration, and he’s proud of the committee’s work over the past year. 

“As you can tell from the meeting, the group was very aligned with what they feel are the best options for recommendations,” he said.

Smith said members believe council will get behind the recommendations, but also respect whatever decisions are made.

“Council has shown a very keen interest in moving forward with recreation programming on the agenda, so we have every belief we would meet very little resistance. Ultimately, our responsibility for programming ends with our recommendations in terms of implementing recreation activities.”

The current committee’s mandate comes to an end once a new council is elected in the fall.

“The next committee would have the ability to make sure the plans move forward,” added Smith, who hopes some new faces will come forward as committee members.

“Speaking from my own experience, I would encourage anyone who may have some interest in the future of recreation in the township to apply when the time comes.  I also want to say a thank you from the committee to the staff who have been tremendous with their time and efforts in helping us achieve our goals.”

Some of the options are expected to have user fees, particularly if a facilitator needs to be hired for something like a cooking class.

“The $5,000 is a start-up cost to get us advertised, to solicit partnerships. That (money) is to get programming up and running and the programs themselves will look at a cost-recovery (model), so recovering the cost of the facilitator or renting the Thames Valley (District School Board) gym or something,” said township CAO Karen DePrest.

She added the current township facility allows for free use of facilities from Monday to Friday, as long as admission isn’t being charged and it's open to the public.

“I understand that right now there aren’t evening opportunities, but that’s probably because those facilities aren’t available for free in the evenings, so people aren’t organizing drop-in activities at night,” she added.

The motion came to council at Wednesday night’s meeting and next week’s Gazette will have a full report on the outcome. The next RAC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, at 7 p.m. Among the agenda items will be a debrief on council’s decision.