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Morinville unveils reopening plans

Sports fields June 26, with leisure centre and cultural centre to follow in July
2006 MorinBriefs dr129
REOPENING THIS JULY – Town council has heard that the Morinville Leisure Centre would reopen July 13 once measures to control the spread of the coronavirus were in place. DAN RIEDLHUBER/St. Albert Gazette

Morinville residents will get to hit a home run later this month as the town’s sports fields reopen – but they’ll have to run home if they need to use the bathroom while they are there.

Town councillors got an update on Morinville’s COVID-19 reopening plans during a committee of the whole meeting June 16.

Council closed Morinville’s town office, cultural centre, leisure centre, splash park, skate park, baseball diamonds and soccer fields on April 3 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The skate park reopened May 26. On June 9, council directed administration to reopen the rest of the town’s facilities when operationally feasible to do so.

Public works manager Jim Gourlay said his crews would have some, but not all, of the town’s ball diamonds and sports fields ready to open by June 26.

“We’re not going to get all the soccer fields ready,” he said, explaining they would open more as demand for them rises.

The town is also keeping public washrooms closed for now, added chief administrative officer Stephane Labonne. He acknowledged this would be a major inconvenience, but said the town would have to clean those washrooms every hour to meet sanitation requirements under the province’s reopening guidelines.

“We just don’t have the manpower to do it,” he said.

Gourlay said the splash park could reopen on June 26, but that would depend on what happened June 23, which is when council is set to debate motions to keep the splash park closed so it could be repaired and/or moved. (About half of the park’s fixtures weren’t working properly, council has heard.)

Crews are painting walls, refinishing concrete, and doing other maintenance at the town’s cultural and leisure centres while they are closed, said community services manager Sharleen Edwards. Before these facilities could reopen, crews have to flush stagnant water out of taps and toilets, train up on sanitation and health screening practices, and post spots and directional arrows on floors to ensure visitors practise physical distancing.

Edwards said the leisure centre is set to reopen July 13, with the community cultural centre following July 20. Residents should expect changes in operating hours and amenities at both sites.

Garage sales are go

Morinville residents can now hold garage sales – but town administration says doing so would be a really bad idea.

The Town of Morinville sent out a press release June 19 saying that it had lifted its ban on garage sales. Town administrators imposed the ban earlier this year due to the pandemic.

Town spokesperson Tracy Dalzell-Heise said the town still recommended against holding a garage sale at this time as holding one could violate physical distancing requirements meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. Anyone who does host a garage sale has to follow all public health orders and recommendations, which include spacing tables at least six feet apart, sanitizing all items that are touched, holding the sale outdoors instead of in a garage, and limiting attendance to 50 people at once. Anyone at a garage sale should thoroughly clean anything they buy and not touch their face without first sanitizing their hands. Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 should not attend or hold a garage sale.

See ow.ly/d79W50AcSma for details.


Kevin Ma

About the Author: Kevin Ma

Kevin Ma joined the St. Albert Gazette in 2006. He writes about Sturgeon County, education, the environment, agriculture, science and aboriginal affairs. He also contributes features, photographs and video.
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