Morrow family fine with arena in park
The grandson of the man who gave Morrow Park to the city to be used as agricultural exhibition grounds says his family is fine with the idea of building a new arena/entertainment centre in the park after all.
Ian Falkner is the grandson of Harold Morrow, who gave the lands for Morrow Park to the city 80 years ago for use as exhibition grounds forever.
Falkner told The Examiner on Friday that he was disappointed when a new study recommended using the eastern half of Morrow Park as a site for a new, $85-million twin-pad arena and entertainment facility to replace the aging Memorial Centre.
But on Tuesday, he said he’d had a change of heart after speaking with family members. He said he’s come to see that Morrow Park has been underutilized for years.
“We (the family) feel the property has not been used to its full potential – not nearly,” Falkner said.
Instead of seeing the property
“languish,” he said, his family would prefer to have the city use half the park for a new arena/ entertainment centre, with the other half reserved for the annual Peterborough Exhibition.
“It’s a valuable piece of property – it needs to be used,” Falkner said.
And if the city decides to put an arena there, he said, the family won’t object: “We’re behind it 100 per cent.”
On Monday, city councillors heard from consultant Jon Hack of Sierra Planning and Management about his new shortlist of potential sites for an arena/entertainment centre.
Morrow Park tops the list: the idea would be to build it on the eastern half of the park, west of Roger Nielson Way.
The other shortlisted sites include No Frills on George St. N., James Stevenson Park on Burnham St., the public works yard on Townsend St. and part of the General Electric site on Park St. N.
Councillors didn’t choose a site on Monday: they kept all options open.
They heard that Morrow Park has the advantage of being municipally owned and large enough to accommodate the proposed building.
Morrow Park is also not known to be contaminated, and it’s outside a floodplain (unlike the other sites).
The study points out that Morrow’s descendants deeded the land to the city in 1984 on condition that it be used for fairgrounds forever.
But Sierra’s interpretation of the Peterborough Act, 1984 is that at least part of the park can be developed.
On Monday, councillors voted to receive the report from Sierra for information; city staff will report to a new council during budget talks in January about options to finance a new arena.
The fact that the city owns Morrow Park could be a big money-saver, the Sierra study points out.
Sierra had considered the Market Plaza site on George St., for example, but rejected it (that’s the plaza across from the Holiday Inn; it has a dollar store and a bowling alley).
Although Coun. Diane Therrien said on Monday she would like to see further examination of the Market Plaza site, Mayor Daryl Bennett said it would cost the city about $50 million to buy the property and the plaza.