As summer wanes and back-to-school beckons, one constant in Barrie politics remains unresolved and continues, as they say, to have legs.
City councillors and city residents are not nearly done with the sports field controversy.
You know, the proposed synthetic turf, multi-purpose youth sports field and parade grounds, to be built east of Military Heritage Park, in space 120 metres by 78 metres, close to Lakeshore Drive.
It has council approval, dating back to May 15, really needing only a conservation authority permit and an archaeological assessment to proceed.
But since that date, there has been significant opposition to locating the field in a naturalized area near the waterfront, with trees, grass and walking trails.
Critics who dismiss a couple of hundred people showing up for opposition rallies at Barrie City Hall do so at their own peril.
Or wave off the sign carriers along Lakeshore Drive, even if there are only a couple of dozen or so showing up.
Or the organized group of citizens who have been door-knocking and gathering signatures on petitions.
Councillors understand this opposition, even if they are being relatively quiet about it, during the hazy days of summer.
If they — including Mayor Alex Nuttall — didn’t get it they would not have, earlier this summer, asked Marshall Green to meet with some stakeholder groups and will be summarizing their positions, with the goal of presenting a report to council to help guide a path forward, as Nuttall has said.
Green is a retired lawyer with a specialty in municipal law and land use planning. He also has an impeccable reputation, whether it’s because of his knowledge of local politics or his fairness.
That Green is volunteering his time is also significant to those unfamiliar with him; he’s not some hired gun.
Green’s report, in theory, could be ready for Wednesday’s committee or council meetings, although it’s not yet on the agenda.
That means little with this council, which has a penchant for direct motions not on the agenda until the last moment (which is allowed).
Whether councillors want to discuss this weighty issue during an already overloaded August meeting agenda is another matter.
But there’s another possibility, and a plausible one.
What if Green talks to the sports groups, talks to residents, talks to city councillors and concludes this isn’t the place for the sports field?
That this council had tunnel vision when it came to locating the sports field, that no other spaces were seriously considered, that despite normal committee and council approval processes being followed, there wasn’t enough public consultation.
Or that someone was asleep at the switch when public pushback was gauged for building on any naturalized area anywhere near Barrie’s waterfront.
If Green gives the sports field location a thumbs down, it’s also a much-needed way out for this council.
If someone as fair-minded as Green says put the sports field somewhere else, anywhere else, how can this council not take his advice?
How could councillors not listen to the advice of someone with this expertise, and who volunteered it to them?
They could, of course, not listen to Green. But it would make them look worse, worse than they look for trying to build a sports field near Barrie’s waterfront.
Of course, Green’s report could say build it there, that’s a perfectly acceptable place.
Council would also have great difficulty not accepting this advice, especially since it reinforces its position.
Maybe Green will play it safe, that his report will merely give council options. Look at these locations as well, pick one of them instead, for example.
All of this is conjecture, of course.
Much could happen before Aug. 14 or the first meetings of the fall term of this council, when Green’s report comes forward.
But those on both sides of the sports field issue will no doubt be considering these options as this matter comes to a head.
Bob Bruton covers city council for BarrieToday. Despite the summer break for most committee and council meetings, the wheels on some issues continue to grind. And grind.
