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Southdale centre jumps city's funding queue

Councillor says Doer playing politics

By: Bartley Kives

13/06/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 14

City officials are accusing the Doer government of jumping a recreation-funding queue by expanding Southdale Community Centre ahead of four other projects Winnipeg considers higher priorities.

In May, city council approved a long-term plan to open, close and renovate Winnipeg recreation facilities, as determined by the Greater Council of Winnipeg Community Centres, a volunteer-run body that was handed the tricky task of allocating scarce recreation funds back in 2004 in an attempt to depoliticize the contentious process.

The GCWCC decided Winnipeg's top recreation priority was an amalgamation of the Sturgeon Creek and Silver Heights community centres, followed by expansions of the Winakwa, Linden Woods and Park City West community centres.

But on Friday, Ottawa and Manitoba announced a plan to spend $4 million toward the $6-million first phase of Southdale Community Centre's eventual $12.6 million expansion, a project that ranks No. 5 on the GCWCC's priority list.

The announcement allows the Doer government to follow through on a 2007 election-campaign pledge that Mayor Sam Katz and then-GCWCC president Steve Bemrose criticized as meddling. That election saw the NDP expend a lot of effort to seize Southdale, where former TV personality Erin Selby defeated Tory incumbent Jack Reimer.

Now, the head of the council committee responsible for community centres fears the province has subverted what was supposed to be an apolitical process.

"Everyone knows what's behind this. There's been a commitment made in the past," said St. Vital Coun. Gord Steeves, council's Liberal-affiliated protection and community services chairman.

"There is a queue, and (Southdale) is not first in line. It's somebody else's first priority and clearly I can't say it's the city's priority," Steeves said. "I have nothing against the people of Southdale and I don't want to rain on their parade, but if money is moving around for political reasons, there has to be a counterbalance."

St. James-Brooklands Coun. Scott Fielding, whose ward includes Sturgeon Creek Community Centre, said he too was surprised by the Southdale announcement. But the Tory-affiliated councillor declined to lambaste the NDP government until he finds out whether the $5-million Sturgeon Creek and Silver Heights amalgamation will also receive provincial funds.

The City of Winnipeg is not contributing money to the Southdale expansion project, which will include a new hockey rink. Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said the project has been a long time coming and congratulated Selby and St. Boniface Tory MP Shelly Glover for making it happen.

"We certainly know that the community has always felt they have less recreation space than their community needs," Doer said.

St. Boniface Coun. Dan Vandal, whose ward includes Southdale, claimed the province grew tired of waiting for Winnipeg to make a decision about community-centre funding.

"It became evident the city wasn't going to fund Southdale no matter what," said the NDP-affiliated councillor, accusing Mayor Katz -- his chief antagonist at city council -- of "trying to hurt me politically by not funding any recreation projects in St. Boniface."

Vandal said the long-term plan developed by the GCWCC represented five years of "paralysis by analysis" by the city.

-- With files from Larry Kusch

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

 

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 13, 2009 B1

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14 Commentscomment icon

Good Lord.

Daveo - could you be any more spiteful?

You are labelling all kids who are playing our national sport to be "cry baby hockey players".

Shouldn't you be out protesting mosquito fogging?

Next election whatever Party you favor lets hope for a minority that is the only way we can return power to the people of Manitoba.

If the province and the federal government want to fund a community improvement, then why would anyone complain? The city isn't even contributing, so what is Steeves talking about? What a joke. This city is run by a bunch of amateurs who give millions of dollars away to the private sector for a water park and then complain when the two other levels of government actually do something.

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Juno What Wrote: "An expasion of an existing facility is likely more economical than building new. With the recent and ongoing development and the corresponding number of young families in Royalwood, Island Lakes and Sage Creek, the expansion of Southdale makes sense to me."
That may be true but it's the way Doer and his cronies bypassed the city and its officials. I could care less about you rich folks in Royalwood and Sage Creek and Island Lakes, it's your attitudes that think your kids can play hockey before our children in Southdale can. Some kids here can't even get on the ice to have a family skate because of hockey going on all the time. The kids are told to go to the outside rinks and freeze while spoiled little brats take the ice inside because mommy and daddy rich bucks got their way with Southdale community officials. I would just like to see children who don't play hockey get a chance to skate that's all. Gary Doer and Erin Selby have done some unworthy stuff here and next election may pay for it.

An expasion of an existing facility is likely more economical than building new. With the recent and ongoing development and the corresponding number of young families in Royalwood, Island Lakes and Sage Creek, the expansion of Southdale makes sense to me.

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Wait a minute now i understand the whole concept here. Erin selbly has complaining she wants more photo radr in southdale. thats how there going raise money for the community center. Erin Selby Andg Gary Doer Are very sneaky,i think we all knew that.


Why can't people just be happy for the people of Southdale?

No, I don't live there, I just can't understand these city "officials" are whing about some citizens getting a service.

stop being so selfish

And Doer works his magic again. Disgusting. I hope some people in this province finally take notice of the underhanded dealings of this corrupt and unethical Government the next time we go to the polls

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well i would sure would like to see the ice used by kids to. It seems like all the hockey teams get the ice with no children in the community getting the chance to skate on the ice. Oh yes the club sends the kids to the outdoor rinks while the big cry baby hockey players play inside . Let our children be able to use these facilitys to ,not just the rich parents of hockey players. With gary doer and mrs selby i smell a rat. Its not like the ndp has never let out that smell before. Oh yes on the rental is it the same price for hockey teams per hour as the public would have to pay per hour? Southdale has become really snobbish how things have been run at southdale community center and it makes me sick.

"Everyone knows what's behind this." spoketh City Councillor Gord Steeves.

Yep. It's cheap politicking by a City Councillor with ambitions beyond his current position.

Shame on the NDP for this OBVIOUS example of attempting to shore up support in a traditionally non-NDP riding with this announcement. Winakwa CC is definitely more in need of its expansion as there is currently no gym and outdated locker rooms in the current club.

I suppose that this could be held up as an example of where all the ill-gotten photo radar money from last year is going.

Maybe if Southdale rented the ice out less to adults, there would be time for the kids to get on the ice. It looks like Ms. Selby sold out Winakwa CC to get the vote in the south half of her riding. Hopefully the residents of Windsor Park will remember this in 2011.

While there is a need for more recreation facilities in this area, as a resident of Royalwood and with many friends in Island Lakes, we would rather see a new community club in Island Lakes. The area south of Bishop Grandin is poorly served.

While it's always good to see strong community centres, it is very apparent that this is a politically-minded plan to keep Southdale for the NDP. When will Mr. Doer reward his own constituency by putting money towards the Disraeli and Louise? Perhaps when he thinks people will stop voting for him?

Big surprise! The ndp is using public money to buy future votes.



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