Windsor’s arena project far cry from shrine to hockey
When it comes to building a new arena, the Town of Windsor has lost sight of the goal. For several years, the community has been teased with the notion that a state-of-the-art facility — one that would draw people from all over the world — would be built in our neck of the woods.
The project was billed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — something that would pay homage to the very sport that Windsor claims started here. It was meant to be a mecca for hockey enthusiasts. It was going to serve as an economic driver that would breathe new life into a region struggling with an aging population and aging infrastructure.
It was going to be a multi-purpose complex, one that featured a two-pad ice surface and a hockey heritage museum, plus a walking track, indoor soccer field, and weight training centre. It was a lofty goal, but one that certainly would have put us on the map.
That vision was gradually pared down as concerns about location and financing surfaced. Windsor and West Hants councils became more involved once the committee behind the initial plan realized the facility required municipal backing in order to access muchneeded provincial and federal funding.
It appeared, at first, that the councils would work together to realize the dream.
We shouldn’t have gotten our hopes up.
After expressing concerns over location, size and scope of the project, financing, and long-term management, West Hants councillors stepped away from the project, save for the $1 million that the municipality pledged to provide, to allow Windsor to take the reins.
Windsor council has effectively watered down the vision to the point that we’re left with a mere rink, with a walking track if financing allows.
Windsor council promised public input would be sought, that the people would have a say. Instead, it’s forging ahead with their own vision. They’ve selected the location for the new arena — without any public consultation (save for a few private stakeholder meetings).
It’s a desperate attempt to save a project that will no longer be the draw that the town wanted — and, in fact, needed. It will no longer be a huge tourist destination.
What’s left is the shell of a dream that’s going to cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
A new arena usually warrants celebrations. Instead, this one has incited heated arguments, finger-pointing and allegations of wrongdoing.
Windsor council is now imploring the public to get behind the modified plan. It’s a hard request to accommodate considering the new ‘vision’ pales in comparison to what we wanted, anticipated, and hoped for.
The area needs an arena, but more importantly, it needs a multi-purpose facility that will draw people here. Settling for a hastily put-together project that is going to cost millions and will require extensive road upgrades won’t do that.
We must demand better from our elected officials and hold them accountable. Don’t let the dream of a world-class facility die because of an eagerness to get shovels in the ground.
The time to be vocal is now.
The project can still be saved if the willpower is there.
If not, we will wind up with a very expensive rink located off the beaten path and generations will be left wondering what could have been.
New Brunswick Power has important hearings underway in front of that province’s Energy and Utilities Board. Rate increases and the installation of so-called smart meters are being closely debated, so the board keeps adding extra days of questioning.
In Saskatchewan, SaskPower is expanding its commercial and industrial smart meter pilot program to businesses. The company hopes to roll out a residential smart meter pilot program by the end of 2019. That province experienced some malfunctioning in the devices, which set them on fire back in 2014, so new specifications are not rolling out quickly.
Smart meters are common elsewhere in Canada. Some provinces, like British Columbia and Quebec, will charge a meter reading fee to customers who opt out. B.C. power customers are charged between $240 and $388.80 per year for opting out. Quebec’s energy board set a $15 refusal fee and a $5 per month meter reading surcharge.
Pending approval from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB), Nova Scotia Power has said installation of smart meters will start on a pilot basis late this year, with full rollout beginning in 2019.
No opting out details are public yet. I understand Nova Scotia Power may offer its customers the opportunity to read their own meter by sending in a post card with the numbers, or by taking a photo of their meter.
There are critics who say the new
On Feb. 13, 2018 at the committee of the whole meeting, the location of the new “Windsor” rink was voted on by the current town council.
Following are facts and observations that tax paying citizens of the Town of Windsor (of which I am one) and residents of West Hants should be very concerned about.
Mr. Louis Coutinho, the CAO (chief administrative officer), presented the outcome of the fact-finding mission completed by Mayor (Anna) Allen and himself. It was surprising to hear the number of site options had increased from two to seven, which was even a surprise to some of his own council members. Options are good, as long as they are relevant.
In the end, against the objection of Councillor (Jim) Ivey, who stated that public consultation and input had been promised but never delivered, a vote of 4 to 1 ruled in favour of the Long Pond site over the agricultural grounds (new or existing arena).
The exhibition site was the other option addressed in the $50,000 feasibility study (not mentioned by Coutinho) conducted by the province to provide information to select the best site for this once in lifetime project. Among meters don’t provide much of a carrot for people to reduce their electricity consumption and individuals with health concerns are beginning to express fear. I call those people canaries in the coalmines.
A Wolfville resident whose bedroom was about 100 feet from a large transformer on the phone pole level with her bedroom got sick when she lived in the U.S. for a year.
When she moved back to Nova Scotia, she spent more than six years traveling to Fall River environmental health clinic learning how to live with fibromyalgia, chemical sensitivities and chronic fatigue. That transformer was a major contributor to her health problems.
Today, the Integrated Chronic Care Service (formerly known as the Nova Scotia Environmental Health Centre) assesses and plans for the care of individuals with complex chronic conditions. I’m told patients are taught how the nearness of electrical wires contributes to environmental illness.
Nova Scotia Power has been telling the public that the radio frequency (RF) energy produced from the new meters is within Health Canada and World Health Organization stan- other strengths, the side by side analysis listed 14 advantages for the Wentworth Road (Ag Society) site compared to six for the Long Pond site. Simple math that Mayor Allen somehow saw as a 50/50 split. Other Windsor councillors were confused by the whole report.
In a town of 1,100 households with one of the highest tax rates in the province (almost double those of West Hants), how does a small group of elected officials ignore a study contracted to ensure all levels of government make the best educated use of taxpayers’ dollars? And with no public input or discussion of the feasibility study. As taxpayers, we should be very concerned.
Additional site options added in recent weeks by the committee of two included the former Windsor Regional High site on Wentworth Road, or the demolition of Haliburton House to build a new rink amongst the sink holes in that area.
It was also decided to leave the Hockey Heritage building at Haliburton House but to expand it, and also explore reviving the Stannus Street rink (which is privately owned) for outdoor hockey. We will never know how this equation got into this picture. dards for safety. And, apparently, RF emissions from smart meters are lower than many common devices such as baby monitors, cell phones, and microwaves, which I find rather frightening.
There’s long been concern about cell phones, cell towers and radiation. Kids are glued to the phones of course. My daughter often calls to chat on her way across town. I found myself double-checking recently that her phone goes on the floor at night.
The Los Angeles Times ran a story last year setting out questions as wireless corporations get ready to launch the next generation of speedy service. It’s called 5G and it appears likely to propel an increase in the number of transmitters sending signals to cell phones and a host of new Internetenabled devices, such as smart appliances and driverless vehicles.
According to the coalition Canadians for Safe Technology (C4ST), the move toward 5G technology will boost the number of cell towers around us and make it nearly impossible to evade wireless radiation. C4ST members even believe that wildlife will be impacted negatively.
There’s no doubt in my mind that those sensitive to radio frequencies, seniors and the young need extra levels of protection from the waves we cannot see or feel. They are there and all of us should be educated about safety measures and the outright dangers of exposure to unsafe levels of radiation from technology.
Long Pond (King’s location) is the council’s chosen decision because as Birthplace of Hockey the new arena by Long Pond will bring the world here, something strongly dismissed in the feasibility study. Mayor Allen suggests a series of trails from Long Pond will revitalize the downtown core.
The Agriculture Society property was ruled out by council as they believe most people don’t want a shared facility (although it certainly is the most cost effective of all the options - whether a new separate arena or a refurbished existing arena).
Interestingly, the former Windsor Regional High property, currently owned by the town, was also strangely dismissed, even though it is closer to downtown than Long Pond by a large margin, doesn’t require major upgrades to local streets such as College Road, required zero money to be spent on Wentworth Road because that was upgraded several years ago, and finally would be halfway between both high schools in our town.
Additionally, the nearby hospital and new sidewalks complement this piece of land that sits undeveloped almost 15 years after it was cleared.