About 20 citizens including parents, grandparents, and children, attended at city hall Monday at 4:30 p.m. to hear the Recreation and Culture Standing Committee consider removing the Kiwanis ballpark to create a location for a proposed pump track.
The rec and culture committee is composed of Couns. Rick Bull (chair), Acting Mayor Andrew Wannan, and Couns. Charles Flintoff. Counsellors Seidel and Morrissette were also in attendance.
None of the committee members or the public, expressed issue with the pump track. The loss of the ball field was the issue.
The Elliot Lake Youth Slo-Pitch and T-Ball Club - and others - have been trying for almost a year to get their message heard. Club executive member, Stephanie MacLeod, used her two-minute public input to come right to the point.
“I am speaking to you today on behalf of the Elliot Lake Youth slo-pitch executive, expressing our deep concern and frustration regarding the proposed decommissioning of Kiwanis ball field to make way for a pump track,” she told the committee and public.
Rebounding since COVID, “our league has witnessed a remarkable increase in participation, growing from 138 youth participants in 2022 to an astounding 205 in 2023.”
“The surge in interest demonstrates the vital role Kiwanis ball field plays in providing affordable and accessible recreational opportunities for our youth.”
MacLeod covered many points and her presentation is in the City’s video archive here.
MacLeod concluded, “Ultimately, why does [the pump track] have to be [at] Kiwanis? Who is really winning when hundreds of community members will lose?”
“In closing, we respectfully request the recreation standing committee and council members put the brakes on the decision of decommissioning Kiwanis ball field and encourage the formation of a working group, community input group or recreation advisory committee with slo-pitch stakeholders and bike club stakeholders.”
“This collaborative effort would enable the gathering of input from all user groups leading to a win-win solution that will benefit the entire community of Elliot Lake.”
Following the presentation, citizens in the public gallery applauded - something rarely heard in the council chamber because it is prohibited.
Talking past each other
The ball club people are asking for the opportunity to explain the time and scheduling constraints they see, that they don’t believe the council and staff have considered.
Acting Mayor Andrew Wannan asked Director of Recreation and Culture, Kari Kluke, “Have they all been consulted concerning a potential scheduling of events or games? Has that been done yet?”
Kluke responded, “There's been no initial consulting. At the beginning, we - there was an initial meeting with one of the members from the baseball.”
The club members that ELT has spoken to don’t know who, or what meeting Kluke is referring to.
During her presentation, MacLeod told the councillors, “Over the past year, our attempts to engage in constructive conversations with the city's director of recreation and culture and council have been met with stonewalls and refusals to discuss the topic.”
Wannan told Kluke, “I think moving forward, we should be at least engaging these groups that would be interested, and I'm not sure what the process would be to get that done, you know.”
“But to think that we would, as a council, take anything away sports-wise, without having a good plan is nonsense, in my mind,” Wannan added.
Scheduling concerns in real-life
The ball club people don’t believe the councillors understand why they are concerned. It’s not just having hours available on a schedule. The hours need to work for busy working families with young children on school nights.
And the club also arranges their schedule, so the ball game evenings don’t conflict with the local soccer program evenings.
After the committee decided to carry on with the recommendation to remove the ball field, ELT spoke with some of the parents on the front steps of city hall. Their frustration was evident.
“We can't accommodate everybody with only three ball fields. No, there's no way. We're already on the field four days a week … And most of us adults who play, coach our children - coach the children as well. So how are we supposed to do both coach and play?”
The committee’s recommendation is expected to be considered by the council next Monday at 7 p.m. at city hall.
The ball club plans to deliver a full presentation.