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The Brussels Post, 1977-11-23, Page 16Dressing rooms offer lots of By December 8, the campaign for funds was making remarkable progress. The total raised to that date stood at $151,622, better than half • way toward the committee's goal of $242, 500. Some, $94,244 had been raised through the house to house canvass, which was yet to be completed. ' On Janaruy 5, a front page story in the Post reported further progress in the fund raising drive: "There's about $75,000 still to be raised by a canvass of the public for the neW Brussels, Morris and. Grey Community Centre. M ore than $100,000" came hi individual donations so far and Shirley Cossitt of the new arena committee told the Post that construction should start as Half-way mark point out that the rumours false. "I'd compare it (the old arena) to an old car you've had for a long time" Reeve McCutcheon said. "It'd given good service but you've outgrown it and its rusty. It would cost more to repair it than its worth''. were soon as the weather breaks in the spring. The arena committee me t Monday night and hope to call tenders on the new building about the end of February. The arena committee has set a goal of .$237,500 to be raised locally but pledges from service clubs and donations of land have left about $175,000 as the goal of the public canvass. To date $100,830 of that has been donated, leaving about $75,000 more than the committee hopes will come in from the public" In mid-January, council moved to bring the arena a little closer. The Post of January 19, 1977 said: "Another step towards the new Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre was taken last week as Brussels council passed a by-law to allow them to acquire the site of the new building and rights of way to it. The by-law also authorized the establislinient of a he*• arena and community centre. The old Brussels arena is not a community Centre. The neW community centre building contittee,• which is a committee of council, hopes to New arena site is finally chosen On September 1, the Post reported that a site had been chosen for the new arena. It was on land owned by Jack Bryans and offered to the committee for a nominal $1. Though it was in the village, there was no road leading to the side, meaning that easements would have to be sought from area property owners. In the end, the road was to cause a number of problems for the committee and council before the arena was finished. In mid-September, council was still grappling with the problem of the fate of the old arena. On September 15, the Post reported: "Continuing its study of the arena problem in Brussels, council at its September meeting decided to seek an assessment of the wind and snow load capacity of the roof of the arena as a means of determing whether it is possible to continue to use this building providing loads are monitored. B. M. Ross and Associates of Goderich have been asked to make the study. At the same time the Ministry of Culture and Recreation is being asked concerning the availability of Wintario funds for arena repairs to be applied toward the construction of a new arena and recreation complex." A week later, the fund raising committee told a building committee meeting that plans were well underway for a week long canvass for funds which was to start November 1. At the same time, a delegation from the building committee was meeting with council to decide whether to have plans drawn up by a single' contractor and tender for prices to build that design, or to Call for tenders which would include plan proposals. It was decided that the committee would. have to make the decision and then get back to council with a design for the building. On October 6, a delegation from the Brussels Fair Board attended a meeting of the arena committee to hear the committee's decision on a proposal, to build the new arena at the Fair grounds. The committee had been requested to consider the Fair grounds by Reeve Jack McCutcheon. The committee decided to stick • with the site offered by Mr. Bryans, and the Post reported: " The arena building committee favoured the Bryans site because there was more room • there for expansion, if in 30 yeras or so the community wanted to build a swimming pool or sports complex, the fair president said. The arena committee also felt that the hill setting for the new arena was better and would be more attractive for the village." In the meantime, council was still awaiting-word on whether or not the old arena could stay open if snow loads were continually monitored. Local groups who normally used the arena for winter activities decided to go ahead and plan their activities as usual pending the decision by the Ministry of Labour. An October 13 story in the PoSt reported that the arena committee was confident it had made the right choice in sticking with the Bryans site. "By building the arena on the Bryans site, nothing would have to be moved or destroyed, Mr. Prior pointed out. "There it would be out where everybody could see it, and if you're going to spend half a million dollars why not have it out where the people can see the blasted thing?" Mr. Prior said the committee had. taken "a lot of flak" because an access road will have to be built and this would add to the costs. "Even at the fair grOunds, the' arena would, still be quite a distance from services available. Let's get it in. the proper place even if it costs extra, People are only thinking of the pressent and that's too bad." • Mr. Prior and Shirley Consitt, who is in charge of publicity for the arena committee said at least five other sites were discussed before the Bryans site was chosen." Town s hip That same week, Gre y Connell passed a rosolu: tion asking for more information on the arena committee's b as.p ruei 1pdriensg:c nptl tni. v eGrey from masekoeld tha tinil or a from the Township's recreation committee be invited to all future arena committee meetings, Large seating area or spectators Walk-a-thon boosts funds On October 27, the Post reported that the arena fund was $8000 richer thanks to the efforts of area people who took part in a Walk-a-thon. "211 walkers set out Saturday morning from the Lions Park under clear skies and by the time they finished their 10 mile trek they had raised over $-8,000. for the new Brussels, Morris & Grey Community Centre. Darrin Watts set a blistering pace and finished the route in I hour and 50 minutes. He was closely followed by Jim Scott, Joe Adams, and Brian TenPas. Pledges were not based upon the speed with which walkers covered the distance, however, so those finishing first did not necessarily raise the greatest amount of money. As a matter of fact, the last place finisher Ernie Back raised the most money with a total of $256." The problem of raising the necessary funds to make the arena a reality was still very much on the minds of both the arena committee and area residents, despite the success of the walk-a- thon and other fund raising ventures. Reporting on an October 28 public meeting, the Post of November 3, 19876 said: "If the committee planning the new community centre for Brussels, Morris and Grey and members of several councils have their way, there will be no debentures issued for the $600,000 building. That was the feeling at the public information meeting called by the new arena committee Thursday night in the 'Legion. "It just doesn't make sense to debenture.• We'll have to get people to loosen ttp their purse strings," said Jim Prior, chairman Of the conitnittee, After Wintario and community Centre grants are received, about $237,500 of the cost of the new building will have to be raised locally. He said the committee hopes to have a successful tender by January I and to begin construction "as soon as the snow goes." No one would assure the meeting that there will be no debentures if the fund raising canvass leaves the committee short of the required $237,500. but committee members and municipal councillors said they weren't in favour of debenturing any of the costs. "I'm definitely not for debenturing but if we all get, behind the canvass and put it ove r the top, we won't need to worry," said Grey councillor Leona Armstrong. Deputy reeve of Morris, Jim Mair, said debenturing would only be a last resort. "We've seen other fair sized projets attempted and turn out well. We're all one community," he said. Roy Williamson, reeve of Grey, said people have to be assured that the arena won't be going on the mill rate. He was echoed by councillor. Barb Dunbar and deputy reeve Cliff Bray." At the same meeting, the arena committee reported that it had paid $5000 to Pierson Buildings Ltd., for preliminary drawings of the new arena, and had decided to retain B.M.Ross and Associa- tes to oversee the -constriiction once a contractor had been chosen by tender. The meeting was also told that the Ministry of Labour had decided to allow the old arena to stay open throughout' the winter, with careful monitoring. That decision had sparked rumours among some village r esidents that there was nothing wrong with the old arena, but Reeve Jack McCutcheon Was quick to space call tenders so that consttuctiot can start in the spring. • Brussels council is having an engineer's report prepared that will show how high a wind velocity the village's old arena can stand. The Ministry of Labou has asked for a report and wants the village to close the arena temporarily if it is threatened by high winds. Goderich engineer Ken Dunn of B.M.Ross and Associates who did the snow load study on the Brussels arena, will do the wind report for the Ministry, Brussels council decided at their first meeting of the year last Monday. Because of the new arena that is being planned for the village, council has been able to keep the old one open by monitoring the snow load on its roof. It has been closed temporarily a couple of times while volunteers removed snow from its roof, Clerk 8111 King said, and then re-opened.' At a meeting March 1, arena committee chairman jim Prior reported that tenders had beet called for; and that once the contractors estiinates were known, the committee could proceed to establish a budget for the project.