ORILLIA - Residents – and councillors – who envision a recreation complex rising up on a contaminated West Street site in the near future should not hold their breath.
An official with Ontario’s Environment Ministry confirmed that it could be a “few months” before a draft certificate of property use is made available for public scrutiny – the next step in the approval process.
“The draft will be posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights registry,” said John Kaasalainen.
At that point, the public will have 45 days to weigh in on the document – essentially a detailed outline of the recently approved risk assessment and the steps the city has said it will take to ensure the site is safe.
Those comments are then sent to the ministry’s director for further review.
“The director has the discretion to impose other requirements if deemed necessary,” Kaasalainen said. “A lot of times it may be more administrative requirements.”
Council will then need to decide how – or if – the trouble-plagued project proceeds, argues Coun. Michael Fogarty.
“All this council can do is review the needs,” he said. “We can leave it for the next council to talk about cost, to talk about location.”
One resident who intends to keep a sharp eye out for the draft certificate of property use is Allan Millard, who says the city has a responsibility to deal with the pool of underground contaminants at the former industrial site.
“If it looks as though the ministry will let them go ahead without dealing with the source area (of contamination), I would think seriously about taking the ministry to court (for a judicial review) for the director’s decision,” Millard said this week.
Council’s relentless pursuit of ministry approval for the plan “has been a waste of public time and money for the sake of reputations – saving face, if you will,” he added.
Recreation needs have changed with the development of a twin-pad arena and sports fields in west Orillia, as has the economic landscape, Fogarty said.  
“We’ve gone through a major recession, we are building a $25 million to $30-million library, we’re building a new police station that’s going to cost more than expected, a new fire station that’s going to cost more than we expected,” he added.
Orillia is also on the hook for the $27-million twin-pad and faces unknown costs associated with ministry demands to upgrade its landfill, Fogarty noted.
“This is not going to be a cheap fix,” he said. “There are millions of dollars here that are going to be needed (for the work) to be done properly.”
Coun. Ralph Cipolla on Monday evening was confident the long-delayed recreation project would soon see the light of day.
“I think this council, if it has the will, can put a shovel in the ground sometime around … late June,” he said.
Cipolla wants to see the project built as originally envisioned, saying the additional rinks would be necessary once the aging Brian Orser Arena and the community centre are closed.
To lower costs, outside amenities could be phased-in, and one of two arenas could be used for indoor soccer and other activities until more ice is required, he added.
Such a facility would “unite the community” while attracting business, industry and sorely needed physicians, Cipolla said.
“It will be a people place that Orillians can be proud of,” he said.
Removing major components and overhauling the design would set the project back dramatically, he warned.
“We cannot change the footprint of the building without having to go through another risk assessment,” he added.
An approved risk assessment allows the city to seek federal and provincial funding, added Cipolla.
Suggestions that council simply steam ahead are “ridiculous,” given the absence of a firm plan for the long-delayed project and the unknown outcome of the public comment process, says Fogarty.
“There is no way council is dealing with anything of substance for this project until the next election,” he added.
The ministry approval would allow the city to pursue the original MURF concept but does not envision a retooled design – a path suggested by some to cut down on costs, he added.
Briefly broaching the subject of the MURF property on Monday, Coun. Tim Lauer described the recent ministry approval as “a huge step forward.
“Whether you are a councillor or a citizen who supports just putting field activities there or … would like to put the entire facility there, this is good news because you can’t use the property without this step.”