Barrie’s Sea Cadets/Navy League would use the parade grounds two to four times a week, weather permitting, at the synthetic turf, multi-purpose youth sports field planned near Lakeshore Drive, east of Military Heritage Park.
Navy League branch president Diane Chislett said the parade grounds included at the sports field would not sit idle.
“Each unit (Navy League, Sea Cadets) marches once a week, plus additional training, so you’re talking a possible four (times a week) out of seven (days),” she said. “It depends on what they are training on.
“I’m not going to send the kids out in the pouring rain to practise their marching,” Chislett added. “It depends what they’re doing. There’s the band. There’s different training that the kids go through.”
She said there are a combined 150 to 160 youths in the No. 53 Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps, for ages 12 to 18, and the No. 24 Navy League Chambly for those aged nine to 12.
The field, conditionally approved by city council May 15, has become a lightning rod for controversy -— not because of the use, necessarily, but because it's to be near the waterfront and intrude upon a naturalized area.
Opponents of the project say there was insufficient public consultations before council approved the field, they have concerns about synthetic turf near Kempenfelt Bay and the field’s intrusion on one of the last natural areas near Barrie’s waterfront. Residents opposed to the sports field’s location have staged peaceful rallies outside Barrie City Hall and a silent protest inside the Council Chambers.
So the need for this sports field at this location continues to be questioned, but not the parade grounds.
Chislett said the Sea Cadets/Navy League use Barrie Armouries at Queens Park and the Ferris Lane Community Church for parade grounds, but only the Armouries, which is about 150 feet by 100 feet, is considered adequate.
But the new field size would work.
“It should still be ample size,” she said. “That would be good for us.”
The field is to be 120-by-78 metres, instead of the original plan for 154-by-100 metres, and located closer to Lakeshore Drive.
It will be for soccer, rugby, football and lacrosse, as well as marching, and there could be amenities such as lighting, benches and site furnishings. It will include a paved asphalt, 35-stall parking lot.
“I’m hoping the public in general will take a look at this and think about the kids,” Chislett said. “Having a sports field that is centralized where everybody can get to, whether they have to travel by car or by transit, would make a big difference to all of them, too.”
It’s also to be handy for the Sea Cadets and Navy League.
City council has also approved the relocation of the young sailors to a new 600-square-metre, $4.55-million addition to General John Hayter Southshore Community Centre.
The Seas Cadets/Navy League have long been located near the Spirit Catcher, along Lakeshore Drive, but the facility is too small, too old and Kempenfelt Bay is too busy there for youths learning sailing.
Funding of $300,000 is committed for the Southshore addition’s plan and design, and city staff will report back to councillors for future construction funding approval, once costing is refined through the design process. No funding source has been identified.
And at this point, there is no timetable for the addition’s construction.
The $4.6-million sports field and parade grounds are to be funded from city reserves.
Despite little controversy about the new Sea Cadets/Navy League location or the parade grounds in general, Chislett said she has had feedback from sports field opponents.
“I’ve been talked to, even when I’m on the streets and if people recognize me, they may start asking questions about it,” she said. “The blowback really is that people were afraid how much it was going to hurt the area, as far as being a naturalized area.
“I think if you look at this smaller design you’ll see that very little is impeding that naturalized area — although I think people are concerned about the traffic, which I totally understand, because you know what it’s like to drive on Lakeshore (Drive).”
Last week, the city said staff had refined the location of the field to protect the woodlot, make the field smaller and closer to the road, ensure the paved walking path is not impacted and to consider the use of natural barriers instead of fencing.
City staff say the new sports field/parade grounds location ensures the woodlot is protected, and if any trees need to be removed, they will be replaced.
Council has approved planting an additional 1,000 trees on the waterfront and protecting the Vimy trees, which are not thriving in their current location and, as a result, would be transplanted to a spot that will give them a better chance of survival.
The city has also emphasized the Sea Cadets' parade ground and multi-purpose sports field is an open-air facility, without a dome or stadium, and will be for community use.
Council also passed a motion to ensure the field meets the minimum size requirements to accommodate the sports identified (soccer, rugby, football, lacrosse) to minimize impacts to the surrounding environment, including tree removals.
A permit is still required from Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, because its regulated area crosses the sports field’s top portion. An archaeological assessment is also needed.
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.
