St. Marys council supports new pavilion design for Milt Dunnell Field

St. Marys council has supported the design of a new pavilion at Milt Dunnell Field. The proposed structure would include Winter Lights and farmers’ market storage, a covered public seating area, enhanced electrical capacity and improved accessibility.

By Galen Simmons

St. Marys council has supported the design of a new pavilion at Milt Dunnell Field as the town prepares to move ahead with another piece of its broader park-revitalization plan.

At its May 26 regular meeting, council received an information report from facilities manager Ray Cousineau outlining the proposed design for a new pavilion next to the north ball diamond. The existing pavilion has been identified for rebuilding as part of the Milt Dunnell Field revitalization plan. According to Cousineau’s report, the current building is due for major repairs, and the revitalization committee determined replacing it with a more user-friendly structure would help improve the park.

“My plan is to have these drawings finalized in the next week or two, have the tender out as soon as possible and … to start building in September and have it ready hopefully by the end of September, early October,” Cousineau told council.

The current pavilion is roughly 72 feet long and 32 feet wide, with two storage areas and an amenity space in the middle. The proposed new building would maintain the same overall footprint but increase the ceiling height to just under 12 feet.

Under the proposed design, the new pavilion would include a 32-foot-by-32-foot storage area for the town’s Winter Lights displays, with a 10-foot garage door facing the parking lot to make access easier for staff.

The design also includes a small storage area with an exterior door for the St. Marys Farmers’ Market, as well as a separate staff-access door.

The remainder of the pavilion would be an open, roofed seating area for public use, with space for picnic tables, a steel ceiling, recessed pot lights to prevent birds from nesting in the building and numerous power outlets to support community events.

The building would also be designed so retractable windscreens could be installed in the future.

The entire structure is expected to feature a concrete floor, steel roof and steel siding. Existing electrical-distribution panels used for the Winter Lights display would remain housed in the building.

“You mentioned you’ve talked to Upper Thames (River Conservation Authority); that was my first question when I read this report, how we’re going to go to concrete, solid surface,” Coun. Dave Lucas said. “Have we been given their blessing, at least verbally?”

“When we met with Upper Thames the other day onsite, her biggest concern was that we flood-proof the building,” Cousineau responded. “She wasn’t concerned with the concrete flooring. (Engineering consultant) B.M. Ross (and Associates) will be putting an application into Upper Thames with the design and the stamped drawings, and at this point, she has not raised any concerns with the concrete floor.”

As part of the project, the new pavilion would be moved roughly 30 feet east of the current location to place it closer to the end of the parking lot and improve access to the storage area. Staff noted the relocation is limited by the existing electrical infrastructure that converges at the building.

While the move will reduce the size of the current gravel parking area, staff plan to reuse gravel removed for the pavilion construction on the west side of the parking-lot entrance lane to maintain a similar amount of parking near the pavilion.

The new location would also create space on the river side of the building where sunshades could potentially be installed in the future to expand the covered area.

Lighting improvements are also proposed, including exterior lighting on the storage area, recessed lights in the public seating area and an additional light on a nearby hydro pole to illuminate the parking lot. Lights would operate on a timer similar to those at the Cadzow Park pavilion.

An accessibility review completed for the project recommends that at least 20 per cent of picnic tables be accessible, that the path from the parking lot to the pavilion be firm, stable and slip resistant, and that one van-accessible parking space be provided near the building.

“Is the sidewalk that runs along the one side of the parking-lot side of the building wide enough for accessibility?” Coun. Fern Pridham asked.

“We’re going to meet all (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) standards for this building, Cousineau said. “The six-foot-wide sidewalk is AODA compliant. We’ll be making sure the whole building and the public areas and staff areas are AODA compliant.”

The project was approved as part of the town’s 2026 capital budget. With council’s support for the design, staff are expected to move forward with issuing a tender for the pavilion project.