Depending on how Chatham-Kent council members vote Monday night, the municipality could be restoring certain services including arenas and splash pads.
Councillors are set to receive a report from Chatham-Kent's chief financial officer that gives them the option to restore several services that were previously voted in favour of remaining closed for the entire summer.
The services being considered for reopening include:
- Opening of Library curbside pick-up on August 4th at the Blenheim and Dresden branches - Opening of splash pads and playground equipment as soon as possible with physical distancing required. The Mitchell's Bay facility would remain closed until current water demand in the community is reduced - Opening of recreation halls and meeting rooms with physical distancing and limited to 50 people - Opening of Blenheim Arena only by mid-August with physical distancing - Opening of John D. Bradley Convention Centre to groups of 50 people while following provincial regulations for physical distancing
There has been a push from some local minor hockey organizations to follow suit of other municipalities and reopen Chatham-Kent arenas. However, the report states that only the reopening of Blenheim Arena is being considered for now.
According to Chatham-Kent's CAO Don Shropshire, the opening of only one arena is on par with the usual demand for this time for the year. The reopening of Blenheim Arena would cost around $50,000.
"Administration in checking with the local users, with the hockey clubs, the skaters, to confirm how much ice time they're interested in or would require over the course of the summer," he said. "Depending on the answers we get, we might be adjusting that recommendation for council."
The reopening of remaining arenas is to be considered based on demand, which the report states is currently at historic low levels. Shropshire added that if arenas are to reopen, strict protocols would remain in place.
"You can appreciate that we're not going to have a whole stand full of parents or people wanting to watch the events," he said. "Similarily, quarters like changing rooms, you may have restrictions on those."
One recommendation not on the list is the reopening of municipal pools. According to CK's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Colby, a lot of thought and brainstorming has been put into the idea of opening pools. However, he said it just doesn't seem feasible.
"That is 100 per cent because we can't think of a way to actually enforce physically distancing there...especially our outdoor pools in the city of Chatham are extremely crowded in the summertime," Colby explained.
The union representing library workers in Chatham-Kent also recently started a campaign to reopen branches across the municipality. However, the report states that besides curbside pickup, local library branches will remain closed for the time being until the municipality is able to ensure the safety of staff and patrons and assess the environmental modifications required in the branches to open.
It will cost the municipality around $40,000 to expand curbside pickup services.
In May, council approved a motion to adjust several services in order to recover $2 million of tax dollars to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff previously estimated that the potential 2020 operating deficit was around $3.3 million.
The following month, as the municipality entered Phase 2, $450,000 in cost savings were cancelled out when council approved recommendations to increase service levels for several amenities including beach parks, sports fields and marinas as well as introduce curbside pickup and four Chatham-Kent Public Library branches.
Now that the municipality has entered Phase 3, administration is asking for direction from council regarding the next steps. According to the staff, if the reopenings in the report are approved, it would require $140,000 of budgeted costs, which would reduce the savings council otherwise could use to offset pandemic costs.
"This report is written through a financial lens and therefore focuses on the cost implications of re-opening services and facilities. Through just a financial lens, administration would not be recommending the openings as outlined above in the recommendation section," reads the report. "That said, the executive management team also recognizes the social and economic recovery needs of the community and therefore recommended certain openings."
According to Shropshire, although local public health officials have given the green light to reopen certain services, council still needs to approve the financial component of previous decisions they made regarding closing facilities and limiting services.
The next expected financial status report is set to be presented during the council meeting on August 10.
