Rec-centre named
Morinville’s new rec-centre now has a new, leisurely name.
Morinville town council voted last Feb. 26 to officially name its new rec-centre the Morinville Leisure Centre.
The roughly $30.5-million leisure centre is now under construction just east of Morinville and is about 83 per cent complete, council heard.
That meant council had to decide what to call the place so they could put up signs and advertisements for it. As no one has bought the naming rights for the place yet, administration recommended the town dub it the “Morinville Recreation Centre,” as it included the town’s name and what the building did.
While Mayor Barry Turner and Coun. Lawrence Giffin supported that idea, Coun. Nicole Boutestein moved that council use the term “leisure” instead, saying that “recreation” implied this centre was just about sports.
“It’s about yoga, it’s about playing tennis. It’s about inside, outside, pickleball, whatever it may be. It’s at your leisure. That’s a good slogan right there!”
Council backed Boutestein’s motion 5-2 (Turner and Giffin opposed).
Council also voted 5-2 (Turner and Coun. Sarah Hall opposed) to approve the facility’s rental rates. Adults will be able to rent a field court in the field house for an hour for $30. Youths can get the same for $16, while non-residents will have to pay $75. Residents can also rent a meeting room and the arena, a court, or the play area for $163, $100, and $80 (respectively) for parties.
Council heard that the leisure centre was poised to come in about one per cent under budget ($30,225,396).
The leisure centre is set to open this May.
Coeur de Morinville questioned
A Morinville councillor wants to know if the town’s Coeur de Morinville strategy is holding back business.
Council voted 5-2 (Boutestein and Turner opposed) last week to have staff create an implementation plan for the Coeur de Morinvillle area structure plan by third quarter this year, one that would include recommendations on what could be changed to encourage business growth.
Town council adopted the Coeur de Morinville area structure plan in 2013 to make sure downtown Morinville developed in a cohesive way. The plan emphasizes mixed-use and walkable development, and sets out various architectural requirements. All new structures built along 100 Avenue should be at least two storeys tall, for example, while those along 100 Street should have parking out back rather than out front where possible.
Coun. Stephen Dafoe wanted administration to look at the plan to see what, if anything, in it should be changed to encourage business development.
“I have a belief that the plan as it sits presently is halting some development,” he said, citing anecdotal accounts.
The town has also carried out very little of it, he continued. The plan envisions decorative sidewalk surfaces with lots of trees and benches and art along Main Street, for example, none of which has materialized.
“It’s quite visionary, and I like it, but is it realistic? We haven’t done anything with it for six years.”
While no one has specifically told him they weren’t building in downtown because of the plan, town economic development director Brad White said he had heard from businesses concerned that it could affect their planned expansions because they weren’t sure how it would apply to them.
“There seems to be a lot of confusion on what the Coeur de Morinville means,” he said, and a closer look at it could help clarify matters.
Turner acknowledged the town had not put many resources toward the plan and was behind schedule on it, but opposed reopening it. This plan involved extensive public consultation and many overlapping principles, and tweaking it would weaken its overall vision.
“When you get a plan of this nature, it’s either the right plan or it’s not,” he said, and if it wasn’t, the town should create a new one backed by a full public consultation.
