Bowman says closing rec centres was an admin idea and never seriously considered

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This article was published 11/02/2015 (3957 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Brian Bowman said Wednesday morning that closing recreational facilities in the inner city was an administrative idea that was never seriously considered for implementation.

Bowman said closing wading pools, outdoor pools and recreational centres – first reported by the Free Press last week – was never an idea generated by his executive policy committee but one floated by the administration.

“The administration came forward with some options,” Bowman told reporters following the morning executive policy committee meeting. “We suggested as part of the ongoing discussion with members of council, the administration speak with councillors to get their input but at no time has there been any decision to close wading pools and there will be no such recommendations in the budget that will be tabled.”

Bowman said contrary to what the councillors understood, no wading pools, outdoor pools or leisure centres will be closed or operating hours reduced.

“We want children to have these amenities,” Bowman said. “These are important amenities, especially in the inner city, where there’s a disproportionate greater number of wading pools – they are very important. I recognize that. EPC recognizes that and that’s why it won’t be proposed in the budget.”

The explanation given by Bowman and finance chairman Coun. Marty Morantz in the aftermath of the public furore over the proposed closing of recreational facilities in older neighbourhoods was a direct contradiction of what several councillors told the Free Press.

The councillors said senior officials from the community services and property departments met individually with each of them, swore them to secrecy and identified the specific facilities that were proposed to be closed or impacted in their ward as a result of the budget: a combined 30 wading pools, three outdoor pools, the indoor pool at Bernie Wolfe school, two leisure centres, and a cutback in the hours of operation and programming at five indoor pools.

The councillors’ version was later verified by a member of Bowman’s EPC, who said the closings were being justified because the facilities were not being used.

Bowman said he was surprised to learn one of his EPC members had accompanied the administration in their discussions with councillors.

Morantz (Charleswood-Tuxedo) told EPC that the facilities had been identified by the community services department for closing because they were either under-utilized or were in poor condition. Morantz said, however, in the new spirit of collaboration of the mayor and new council, the administration was instructed to find out how councillors felt about the proposed closings.

“We decided to have community services speak with each individual councillor about the amenities in their wards and whether they could be re-aligned in some fashion,” Morantz said. “That’s what we did, in an atmosphere of openness and trust. We never slated, as some of the news articles suggested, we never proposed, never budgeted for, and there are no closures of wading pools at all budgeted for or other pools or rec centres.”

Bowman said city council faces a difficult task in balancing its budget for this year and future years.

“We’ve inherited a structural deficit that is growing each year,” Bowman said. “The revenues and expenses don’t match.

“This year’s budget is very difficult and future years’ are also going to be difficult if we can’t make fundamental changes to the way cities are funded as well as how we are spending the money.”

Bowman said the operating and capital budgets are still be worked on but will be tabled soon. The budget has to be passed by the end of March.

Bowman said recreational facilities were only one consideration that was evaluated by the public service during the budget process.

“There are a number of considerations we have to look at to balance the budget,” Bowman said. “(The public service) presented many different options. Some are not going to be accepted and that will be reflected in the budget.”

Bowman and Morantz began the EPC meeting offering praise to each other and members of EPC for what they said were a series of first at city hall – holding a council seminar on the budget and having Morantz meet individually with non-EPC councillors about their budget concerns.

But several councillors said that, aside from the meetings with Morantz, they had been shut out of the budget process and that it simply was a repeat of how budgets had been conducted in the past.

Bowman said that budget consultations in the future would be more open, promising the community greater input into the decision-making process.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca