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Consider it a means to an end of the planned synthetic turf, multi-purpose youth sports field and parade grounds near Barrie’s southshore waterfront.
The means is a second protest rally at Barrie City Hall on Wednesday about the location of the field, slated for city property east of Military Heritage Park.
The end is local politicians taking another look at their May 15 approval of the field.
“Our goal is for city council as a whole to reconsider the motion, and to find an alternate location,” said Arnie Ivsins, one of the rally’s organizers.
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 last month.
Mayor Alex Nuttall said Monday he hasn’t seen any indication that reconsidering this approval is in the works.
“I have seen zero motion on anything like that, at all, and it wouldn’t even be this Wednesday, either, because it’s general committee and there’s really not an opportunity to do that,” he said, agreeing that such action would most likely have to be a direct motion at a city council meeting.
Last month, council essentially approved the field and an addition to Southshore Centre for the Sea Cadets' new home.
The field would be for soccer, rugby, football and lacrosse, as well as marching, and there could be amenities such as lighting, benches and site furnishings.
The field shown would measure 100-by-154 metres in size, while the Southshore addition would be 600 square metres, for a total building cost of $9.15 million.
But Nuttall said plans are afoot for a smaller sports field, although he said its dimensions are still being determined by city staff.
“It’s to come back with something that fits the area a little bit better,” he said. “The reduced size doesn’t impact the forest in the way the original schematic (map) did.”
The mayor also said he's making sure the field is not exclusive, so it’s open to the public at all times, something Coun. Amy Courser stressed during councillors’ discussions of the project.
Courser and Coun. Jim Harris, who represents this part of Barrie in Ward 8, voted against the sports field there.
Ivsins said Friends of Allandale Station Park are doing more than holding rallies.
In the past week, they have 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.
“We are asking Barrie residents 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-use sports field,” Ivsins said. “In going door-to-door … we keep coming across people who had no idea this proposal was happening, and they don't agree with the location.”
Ivsins credited Nuttall with engaging citizens directly, and Friends of Allandale Station Park have opened a line of communication with the mayor within the past few days.
The rally on Wednesday, June 12 is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., outside Barrie City Hall on Collier Street.
Organizers are encouraging Barrie residents who do not agree with the multi-purpose sports field being located near Barrie's waterfront to meet for the peaceful rally.
Ivsins, like many others, says he has problems with how residents learned about the sports field, that there was no dedicated public notification, no public meetings and no public consultations, he has said.
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 for the sports field.
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.
A permit is 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 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.
A change.org petition, started May, 7, 2024, ‘Say no to developing a multi-use sports field and parade ground at SouthShore/Allandale Park’ had 5,789 signatures on Tuesday afternoon. It can be found by clicking here.
There is also a change.org petition, started June 7, 2023, that the ‘Navy League Barrie petitions the City of Barrie for a multi-use facility on Kempenfelt Bay’ with 2,089 signatures, again as of Tuesday afternoon. It can be found at by clicking here.
BarrieToday also ran a web poll last week asking readers for their input on the sports field's location. Solely intended as a sampling of public opinion, 3,260 respondents took part in the poll. The results can be viewed by clicking here.
