Perhaps eager to show it’s not a done deal, Woolwich councillors want to see plenty of public consultation before making a decision about a proposed joint development plan that would see a new school built on township property adjacent the park and community centre in Breslau.
“I think we have to get the community really involved with this one,” said Coun. Larry Shantz as councillors discussed the issue Tuesday night.
Fellow Ward 3 councillor Murray Martin noted the township has so far done a poor job of communicating with Breslau residents concerned about the project. The same applies to Maryhill residents unhappy about the closure of St. Boniface school in favour of a new building in Breslau.
“No input, no buy-in,” he said of the need for public consultation.
More public meetings and the formation of as many as three working groups are among the options being considered to improve that situation.
The project would see improvements to Breslau Memorial Park as the township and Waterloo Catholic District School Board work on a shared-use agreement for the community centre, gym and playing fields. The Region of Waterloo Library is also involved, as plans call for a 5,000-square-foot shared-use library.
The province has provided the board with $5.3 million for the new project. The school will be built for 250 JK to Grade 8 students, with a target of opening in 2018.
Many Breslau residents, particularly those adjacent to the park, are concerned about the project’s impact on their neighbourhood. They were out en masse at a public information session February 26. Since then, councillors and staff have received a steady stream of emails from those opposed and in favour of the project.
Councillors have repeatedly denied that the proposal is a done deal, acknowledging that a poor presentation at last month’s public meeting did more harm than good.
As councillors met March 10, chief administrative officer David Brenneman suggested further consultation, including the formation of a taskforce or three, one for each area of concern in the project: the school, the parkland and the library. Staff and their counterparts at the Waterloo Catholic District School board and Region of Waterloo Public Library are preparing information for a Q&A to be posted online, he said. That information is to be vetted by council beforehand.
A public survey is also an option, he added, tilting in favour of a professional company doing the work given the concerns raised over the usefulness of the data collected during a similar exercise over the casino debate in the last term of council.
Unenthused by the survey option, councillors all pushed for more public input.
Coun. Patrick Merlihan said the township needs more information before a decision can be made, noting that he can already see changes to the project based on the public suggestions already received.
Mindful of the timelines, Coun. Mark Bauman said there’s no urgency to a decision, with staff expected to come back in a few weeks with more details about the consultation process.
“We need to take all the time we need … to determine what is best for the community and that school,” he argued.
Among the outstanding issues for Shantz is the need to spell out what happens to the park if the partnership with the school board doesn’t go ahead. In that case, a school will be built on another location nearby, but without any money from the sale of township land and joint improvements to the park.
He also pointed out that Bloomingdale residents want to know if putting a library in Breslau means the closure of the library in their community. He argued in favour of pushing to keep Bloomingdale open either way, “so we don’t have a battle to fight afterwards.”
Further discussion is expected at a council meeting later in the month.
