North Grenville Council passed a resolution on Tuesday July 16, to award the consultancy contract for their 10-year Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan to Monteith Brown Planning Consultants.
The plan includes a robust public consultation strategy, a review of current indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, programs, policies, community initiatives and future recreation needs. The quote presented by Monteith Brown to carry out the work came in at roughly $75,000, under staff’s projected budget of $80,000. The study’s completion date is targeted for early December of this year.
Before the resolution was passed, Councillor John Barclay revisited some previous concerns he had about the need and cost of the study. “I want to go on the record as saying that it’s fine to do this study, but we have to have the political will to execute it,” he said at the meeting. “I really don’t want it to sit on the shelf and not be implemented.”
Mayor Nancy Peckford agreed with Councillor Barclay, and noted that she and Councillor Doreen O’Sullivan, who were part of the vetting process for the proposals that came in, where very clear with companies they met with that that this plan is a big deal for the municipality. “It’s not insignificant dollars, and we have incredibly high expectations for their performance and their capacity to do consultation well, and to really help us more coherently define our assets and the opportunities for enrichment to those assets, so that they can be of full benefit to the residents of North Grenville,” she said.
