Councillor to table motion in attempt to keep 'beautiful' Centreville carousel in Toronto
Lorenda Reddekopp | CBC News | Posted: October 3, 2017 11:00 AM | Last Updated: October 3, 2017
110-year-old carousel could be saved by city council if Coun. Paula Fletcher's motion passes
A Toronto city councillor will bring forward a motion at this week's council meeting to try to keep the antique carousel on Centre Island, even by having the city purchase it if necessary.
Coun. Paula Fletcher's motion, entitled 'Let's Keep Going Round and Round — Saving Toronto's Antique Carousel,' calls on city staff to negotiate an amendment to the license agreement for Centreville, including possible fee reductions, in order to buy the old-fashioned merry-go-round.
"It's hard-carved, it's beautiful," Fletcher said in an interview at city hall. "We really need to keep it in Toronto."
She also planning to present an online petition with more than 2,000 signatures to city council when her motion comes up, which is expected to happen on Tuesday.
But there's still a possibility the carousel could end up in the United States.
But there's still a possibility the carousel could end up in the United States.
Headed to Indiana?
Centreville Theme Park put the carousel up for sale after it says it suffered $14 million in losses this summer, due to flooding that shut down ferry service to the island for nearly three months.
The park currently has a purchase and sale agreement for the 110-year-old carousel with the city of Carmel, Indiana, in a deal that expires Oct. 31.
Carmel's city council voted against the deal, after the $3 million cost led to a scandal that became known as "Carouselgate." But Centreville's marketing director Shawnda Walker says the mayor there is still trying to secure private funding for the carousel.
- Carmel, Ind., politicians expected to reject carousel sale
- 'Carouselgate' could mean carousel won't be leaving
"We need to find the money somewhere," Walker said in a phone interview, "We'd really like for it to stay in Toronto."
Centreville Theme Park has also posted a link to Fletcher's petition on its Facebook page.
Fletcher hopes "that we don't wake up one morning and find that it's going to be sold to Anchorage, Alaska, or somewhere in Europe."
She says the carousel should be a point of pride for Toronto.
"Cities around the world are really proud of their heritage carousels," she says. "We can't lose ours."