Grey Highlands council is receiving a report this week to take next steps on its recreation master plan.
The report coming to council on Aug. 3 recommends council have staff organize an information session and bring back a report to the new term of council.
This follows the economic and community development department issuing a request for proposal in 2021 for a 10-year recreation master plan for the municipality. The goal was to define a path forward for recreation, parks, and community facilities in Grey Highlands, and assist in decision-making.
Later in the year, council approved having RC Strategies undertake the municipality’s recreation master plan.
During the information gathering process, the report says the consultants collected data related to facility usage, rates and fees, building information, and local and regional demographics. Residents were also invited to take part in small community-based meetings, online stakeholder sessions, and surveys.
RC Strategies presented their working paper to council during a committee of the whole meeting earlier this year, which summarized their findings. It would eventually be turned into the master plan.
The report says as the master plan is now complete, the consultants are ready to host community information sessions and present the final document.
The master plan includes 37 recommendations focused in three areas, indoor recreation facilities, outdoor recreation and parkland, and service delivery.
Some of these recommendations include developing a community hall improvement plan, provide marketing and communications support to community-based programs in school gymnasiums, support the decommissioning of underutilized ball diamonds in rural areas, and undertake a park development and management plan for the Armstrong Creek connected parkland parcels in Markdale.
The plan says additionally, future population growth, replacement of aging infrastructure, broadening sport and recreation interests, financial sustainability, and economic development are key factors to a long-term goal and strategy of constructing a multi-component sport and recreation complex to serve the municipality.
“A project of this scale and complexity may seem aspirational at this time but it is the most likely cost-effective solution for delivering modern recreation and sport facilities that future generations of residents will need,” says the plan.
The plan adds based on evidence of interest through consultations, potential components of the complex serving the population of 25,000 to 30,000 would be an indoor area ice rink, indoor multi-sport field and walking track, gym and fitness and wellness space, outdoor playing fields, and multipurpose pads.
The recommendations in the master plan are focused on a shorter time period of 10 years, but depending on future opportunities, some recommendations may need recalibrating if a facility is pursued earlier.
The report says there will be no financial impacts at this time. Impacts of recommendations from the recreation mater plan will need to be considered in future municipal budget cycles.