An open house became heated when a crowd of dissenting seniors put Mayor Jim Romane and council on the hot seat for a Q and A around 7:30 p.m. at the Innisfail Library/Learning Centre May 8.
The event drew about 100 people who came to provide feedback on the proposed move of the Innisfail Seniors Drop-In Centre from its current location attached to the town office on 53 Street, to the library/learning centre.
When Romane went to thank the crowd for coming out, people began asking him questions about the move and pointing out concerns they had with the new building.
Some of their concerns included the acoustics of the room and the fact that it would be a publicly rented space, and not somewhere they could make their own.
Romane had answered some of the questions from seniors when Coun. Jason Heistad stepped in to address the audience.
“There are still kinks to figure out,” said Heistad of the concerns. He said there has been consultation with the seniors over the centre and the move. He said the intention of building the new centre was to provide a facility that would last for decades to come.
“I see this not as a small town anymore. We're like a small city. Times have changed. As to the move, I felt it was a good one and I stand behind it.”
Norma Jameson, a member of the drop-in, questioned the move citing concerns over the distance from downtown and the limited parking which forces some people to park at the cemetery and cross the highway.
Romane said busing options were being looked at as well as plans to expand the parking lot.
“Do you see the downtown facility as being adequate 20 to 30 years down the road? We have to consider that.”
The senior centre is used every day said one man, explaining that seniors want and need their own space. He said they have a jam session every Saturday and the acoustics in the new centre are poor.
“I can hear my words go back and forth in here all the time,” he said.
The meeting finished with no resolution, but Romane asked the audience to complete the survey provided and “put as much detail as you can for us to work with.” The crowd broke off into groups and some spoke with councillors individually.
Town CAO Helen Dietz and Coun. Tracey Walker explained after the meeting original plans for the $7.5 million centre always included the intention of moving the senior centre over to the library/learning centre in a shared space.
Part of the grant they received to fund the building was dependent on the centre being a community centre, they added.
According to information provided by admin, public input on the new centre started in 2008 when a committee, made up of town and library staff, board members and community members, was formed to do a conceptual design of the new library and community use facility. They met 10 times and an open house was held in October 2008. Admin also said during the construction phase that started in 2009, a number of meetings were held with the seniors group to get their input.
“Now they can see and feel it and it's not exactly as they expected,” said Dietz, citing the distance of the bathrooms and the heights of counters in the kitchen as examples of why she thinks there's been so much push back.
The town will continue to collect feedback this week said Dietz, who hopes to bring the findings to council in early June for a final decision.
“Things are still up in the air,” said Basil Dalton, president of the senior centre after the open house as to what will happen next. “It's very undecided. I'd hate to make a prediction.”
The total cost of the centre is $7.5 million. Dietz said the municipality paid for one-third of the cost with $600,000 coming from reserves and the rest from town grants, explaining part of the grant was dependent on creating a community building. The other two-thirds of the $7.5million came from the federal and provincial governments.
