Year in Review – May:
The lawn bowling clubhouse in Minoru Park will be rebuilt.
But its size, cost and uses were heavily questioned at public meetings this spring before council narrowly approved a clubhouse more than double the current size that will cost $5.2 million.
Letters poured into the Richmond News protesting spending that amount on a facility that only has between 250 and 280 members.
Some argued the money should go toward controlling the rabbit population, others said it should be used for washrooms at Hugh Boyd Park, while others just questioned the cost, saying that council was spending like “drunken sailors.”
Several councillors argued that the air space above the facility should be used for other non-profits or for seniors housing. The mayor responded asking why housing should be built in parks when it is restricted on farmland.
Council originally approved a $4 million budget for the clubhouse in 2017, but staff brought forward a request to increase that to $5.2 with a small contribution coming from the lawn bowling club.
The clubhouse rebuild was narrowly approved by a council vote of 5-4 with Couns. Kelly Greene, Harold Steves, Carol Day and Michael Wolfe voting against it.
The current clubhouse was built in 1968 and is 1,920 square feet in size. The plan is for a 4,900-square-foot, one-storey facility. The city is currently in the concept and design stage of the new clubhouse and they are expecting to bring this to council in the first quarter of 2020.
