Cornwall freezes recreation fees, hopes to get residents more active
'This great big beautiful facility, and throughout the summer months it's quite often empty'
Recreational sports teams and clubs looking to rent facilities owned by the Town of Cornwall, P.E.I., will not see any increase in their fees this year.
Coun. Corey Frizzell said it's a first step in what he hopes will eventually be a lowering of fees.
Frizzell said he has been hearing concerns from residents about the town's Terry Fox Sports Complex, which has turf fields for soccer and football, baseball and softball diamonds, outdoor tennis and basketball courts and other outdoor recreation facilities.
"They see this great big beautiful facility, and throughout the summer months it's quite often empty. The fields are empty," he said.
Rental costs were seen as a major factor, and when Frizzell took the question to council it decided to freeze fees not just for that facility, but also for all the other sports facilities in the city as well as for the town's recreation programs.
"Encouraging people to be active and healthy is a main pillar of what a municipal government should be looking at," said Frizzell.
"I'm really excited council supported this."
Council will look at the results of this year's fee freeze, he said, and then consider what to do with fees next year.
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With files from Island Morning