Councillor Trevor Bazinet spoke to his fellow Goderich Councillors on Monday night about the need for a renovated Agricultural Park.
His presentation followed a lengthy rant by Deputy Mayor Jim Donnelly in support of the advertisement he placed in last week's Goderich newspaper, contending that the town was spending money it couldn't afford to spend on improvements to the park.
Bazinet pointed out that if the town wanted to continue to attract young families they would have to provide the recreational facilities young families are looking for.
"Especially the young families. The young families are looking at a place where for one, the recreation is available and what type of recreation is available; it's great that we have the water and it's fantastic that we have the YMCA," says Bazinet, adding, "the YMCA, as far as I'm concerned, is a gem of our town but over at Ag Park right now it's a huge embarassment."
He also pointed out there aren't enough ball diamonds for the number of kids that want to play ball and the kids who first started asking for a permanent skate park, now have kids of their own still asking for a permanent skate park.
Bazinet also suggested that given the number of young people today that are dealing with obesity issues because they don't get enough exercise, money spent on recreation is an investment in future health care rather than an expense.
He adds the idea that money can be saved by cutting back on recreational spending is false economy.
