St. Williams Community Centre off the chopping block

Luke Edwards

Grant Haven Media

Norfolk County will consider options for a future fire hall/EMS facility on the existing fire hall site in St. Williams and keep the nearby community centre in public hands.

The move alters the direction the municipality embarked on when it approved a facilities master plan last fall, and came after members of the St. Williams community spoke out when they discovered the community centre could be demolished.

“It currently is slated for demolition. That is not the context that the community wants, it’s not the context that makes sense,” said Coun. Tom Masschaele before his motion was approved by council.

His motion, which included an amendment from Coun. Chris Van Paassen, states a “full review of plans and options for a new fire/EMS facility in St. Williams be completed on the existing parcel of land” first, with input from the community, and that the County remove the community centre from its facilities master plan while not making “any decision that would see the closure, demolition or loss of the St. Williams Community Centre.”

Earlier in the meeting, residents Tracy Kirton and Jeff Glendenning, speaking on behalf of the St. Williams community, urged councillors to keep the community centre open.

“It is the hub, it is what makes St. Williams thrive. It shows their pride for their home town,” Glendenning said.

Kirton, meanwhile, suggested the centre was given an unfair shake in an initial review as utilization rates made it look less used than it really is, while unfair rental rates drove people away from the centre.

“A hall cannot fairly be described as underused when it has been harder to book, less competitive in price, and judged against an unrealistic formula,” she said.

The Norfolk facilities master plan, approved last fall, is an attempt by staff to provide a roadmap to consolidate county-owned buildings and properties to save taxpayer dollars in both operational costs and future capital repair costs. It included long term recommendations to eventually divest the municipality of several buildings and properties. 

During discussions last fall councillors did vote to remove some properties from the list after coming up with alternative plans with community groups.

Earlier this year the St. Williams community expressed a similar desire to keep their community centre open when they discovered the plans for the County to consider a new fire hall/EMS building in St. Williams, which would also house a small meeting room to replace the community centre.

Staff continued to recommend what was approved in the master plan.

“Staff acknowledge the importance of the St. Williams Community Centre to the community and appreciate the engagement of residents and the Ward 1 councillor in this process,” said Stephanie Potter, manager of corporate initiatives.

“The master plan recommendation reflects the need to prioritize critical infrastructure investments where they will have the greatest impact while managing limited resources responsibility.”

Councillors Alan Duthie and Adam Veri agreed with keeping the community centre in the master plan, saying it’s not the final say on the matter. Duthie called the master plan more of a guiding document that puts in place a process to follow.

CAO Al Meneses confirmed that belief, saying there would have been several decision points along the way where councillors could decide to keep the centre in municipal hands. Instead, that decision has already been made.