One of the organizers behind the Brockton Soccer Complex’s fundraising committee says Brockton’s leaders need to get behind the newly-approved project set for Walkerton's East Ridge Business Park.
Council voted to award a tender for the $963,000 project at Monday night’s meeting, thanks to a narrow 4-3 vote.
During the meeting, Jeff Roberts, who is a member of Brockton's Project Managment Team dedicated to the complex, was approached by local media outside of Council Chambers to discuss fundraising for the four-field project.
CKNX News was recording when Roberts and a resident interacted.
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"I'm a volunteer. I have a family here," Roberts said after the interaction. "My family sometimes is very nervous when we're walking downtown because they are not quite sure who is going to confront dad [myself]."
The project’s cost is expected to be covered equally by the municipality, the fundraising group, and through government grants.
"If we have the support of our leaders, then I think the community would be more supportive of it. We need to be proud of this community project. It's not just for soccer, this has everything to do with this community," Roberts, who is also the president of Walkerton Football Club, told reporters after Monday's meeting.
Roberts says the group will now begin to raise the $150,000 needed to officially kick-off the project.
Councillors Chris Oberle, Bill Bell, and Steve Adams voted against both the fundraising plan and the awarding of the tender.
The project has received some backlash in the community, including a 411-signature petition that was handed to council in May.