Those opposing a planned synthetic turf, multi-purpose youth sports field and parade grounds will take it to Barrie’s streets early this morning and Wednesday.
From 7 to 8 a.m. on both mornings, protesters with signs will be along Lakeshore Drive near the field’s proposed site, on city property east of Military Heritage Park, and at the intersection of Tiffin Street and Lakeshore Drive.
“Hopefully, we get the word out quick enough to at least get a few dozen people,” said Arnie Ivsins, one of the protest’s organizers. “We might also be asking people to attend (city) council Wednesday night in a silent protest.”
During the past two Wednesdays (June 5 and 12), a few hundred people — organized by Friends of Allandale Station Park — have swelled the Barrie City Hall courtyard in peaceful rallies opposing the planned sports field.
It’s not the field itself which is opposed, however, but the waterfront location itself.
The goal of the rallies, and this week’s protests, silent and otherwise, is to convince city council to revisit the issue and come to a different decision.
A simple majority of council is required to revisit a motion within six months of its approval, or defeat, according to Barrie’s procedural bylaw. The sports-field motion passed by a 9-2 vote on May 15. Coun. Amy Courser and Coun. Jim Harris, who represents this part of Barrie, voted against the sports field at the time.
Ivsins said there’s been no official progress on changing the votes of any other councillors.
“We’re hoping that perhaps over the summer, the mayor and council will have a change of heart and choose a separate location … look at somewhere else in the city to put this sports field and we’ll be totally fine with that,” he said.
But time is tight. Council is next scheduled to meet Wednesday, then not until Aug. 14, then after Labour Day.
A city staff report says what’s next is the project’s tender preparation, the requests for proposal (RFP), from June to July, the RFP bid evaluation and award, August to September, the field’s design from September to December, and construction from October 2024 to July of next year.
Council essentially approved the field and an addition to Southshore Centre for the Sea Cadets new home May 15. A permit is still required from Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, because its regulated area crosses the sports field’s top portion, and an archaeological assessment is also needed.
The field would be for soccer, rugby, football and lacrosse, and marching, and there could be amenities such as lighting, benches and site furnishings. The field shown would measure 100-by-154 metres in size, with the Southshore addition being 600 square metres, for a total building cost of $9.15 million.
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall has said, however, that plans are afoot for a smaller sports field area, although its precise dimensions are still being determined by city staff.
Sports-field opponents have also launched a campaign where there is now a ‘crew head’ in each ward of Barrie, leading teams of volunteers knocking on doors to make more citizens aware of the waterfront proposal. Barrie residents are asked to read and sign a hard-copy petition, scan the QR code or sign the online petition itself asking council to consider a different location for the multi-purpose sports field.
This property is zoned and designated open space (OS), which permits the development of a multi-purpose sports field. Accessory uses permitted in OS zoning include bleachers, a club house, concession stand, refreshment pavilion or booth. Parking is also permitted within OS zoning. A paved asphalt, 35-stall parking lot is proposed.
The project includes a premium synthetic turf, multi-purpose sports field concept, and is estimated to cost $4.6 million. The funding will come from three city reserves — development charges, tax capital and cash-in-lieu-of parkland.
The cost of replacing a synthetic turf field is projected, for a 10-year cycle, at about $1.34 million for the turf itself, shock pad and line markings.
Not included in this project is a permanent washroom/change room facility, with an estimated cost of $650,000 to $1 million.
The Sea Cadets, long located near the Spirit Catcher, would move to a 600-sq.-m. addition to what’s now named General John Hayter Southshore Community Centre, a northerly extension to the basement of the existing building. It comes with a $4.55-million price tag.
At this point, $300,000 has been committed for the addition’s plan and design. City staff will report back to councillors for future construction funding approval, once costing is refined through the design process. No funding source for the Southshore’s Sea Cadets addition has been identified by the city.
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