Wellesley planning to disband local recreation service boards in favour of one advisory committee

Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The council for the Township of Wellesley is looking to disband local recreation service boards in communities across the township in favour of establishing a single recreation advisory committee that, if approved, would advise council on all things related to recreation and leisure services.

At council’s committee of the whole meeting Aug. 16, councillors voted in favour of formally disbanding all recreation service boards, with the exception of the still-active Hawkesville recreation board, in favour of a nine-member advisory committee comprising representation from council, each of the township’s four wards and the township’s three Lions Clubs.

“For the last number of years, as the current recreation service boards became inactive, staff began to look at the options for the future of how these board will serve council,” said Wellesley director of recreation Danny Roth. “When we looked at the current terms of reference for the boards, the last update that could be found was done in 2003. So, with the current active boards down to one and the last update to the bylaw done in 2003, that’s when we determined that new terms of reference and a new committee would be the recommendation.

“ … The committee would be an advisory committee rather than a fundraising committee. The Lions Clubs’ … expertise is fundraising.”

According to Roth’s report, a single recreation advisory committee will serve as a formal mechanism for community input, providing advice on programs, facilities, policies, special events and partnerships with staff serving as non-voting support.

The creation of a recreation advisory committee, Roth explained in his report, provides a stronger, more strategic model for recreation planning. While there are challenges in transitioning from long-established service boards, the benefits of streamlined decision-making, broader representation and alignment with strategic planning outweigh the risks. With clear communication and a structured implementation plan, the committee could serve to enhance recreation service delivery and support community wellbeing across the township.

As part of the transition, any funds currently held in recreation service board accounts would remain in their respective accounts and continue to be directed toward recreation purposes within those communities. Going forward, fundraising for community projects would be undertaken by each community’s local Lions Club.

However, since the Hawkesville Recreation Service Board is still an active and effective fundraising team, supporting events and other recreational activities in that community, councillors approved an option proposed by Roth to allow the board to remain active until the end of next year, before which council and the members of the service board will evaluate the effectiveness of the new advisory committee and determine whether the Hawkesville recreation service board will remain active or if it, too, will be disbanded with its roles and responsibilities split between the advisory committee and the Paradise and District Lions Club, which serves an area that includes Hawkesville.

“I’m a big believer of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ ” Hawkesville recreation service board chair Bob Caskanette told councillors at the Sept. 16 committee of the whole meeting. “Currently, it seems things are going quite well in Hawkesville on the fundraising side. We get a lot of engagement in our events. I know Danny (Roth) mentioned that the Lions Club may then take over that fundraising initiative within this community. Maybe that could be a good thing; I don’t know.

“Full transparency, I don’t recall ever seeing any of the Lions out at any of our events. Maybe they have been there and just haven’t identified themselves, but I’m a little hesitant if that will be a positive change or what that would actually look like. Again, I think the way things are going seems to be very well, and it would be our preference, certainly, to continue with that if possible.”

Once the advisory committee is approved by council and established in the new year, Caskanette will serve as an additional member of the recreation advisory committee until December 2026 to assist with its evaluation by staff and council and provide input on behalf of the Hawkesville board.

As there will be a municipal election next October, the current council will have an opportunity to review how the recreation advisory committee is functioning beforehand so current councillors can have input on whether the Hawesville service board should remain active after December 2026 – or if it should be disbanded – before a new council is sworn in.