More public input is needed to determine the future of the Listowel Memorial Arena, according to the North Perth Recreation Advisory Committee.
The committee made the determination at its meeting Tuesday night and approved a motion to host an open house for the public.
Amy Gangl, who will serve as interim director of recreation for the retiring Steve Hardie, said on top of the public, it’s important to ask the surrounding service clubs what they think.
"The Recreation Advisory Committee recognizes that these user groups, this is going to influence them, it’s going to affect them, and it’s important to get their input. Perhaps there’s other ideas that they have or perhaps there’s some other ideas that we haven’t thought of," she said.
Nearby clubs that use the parking lot at the Listowel Memorial Arena include the Legion, the Curling Club, and local baseball teams like the Legionnaires. The Recreation Committee approved a motion to invite those surrounding clubs to their next meeting, which will be on April 16.
"We want to make more of a personal contact with those groups to see if there’s any interest in utilizing the facility and or the property, and basically just get their ideas and then formulate recommendations back to council based on the input we’ve gathered," said outgoing Director of Recreation Steve Hardie.
The open house doesn’t have a firm date yet, but it will likely be held in May and no later than June.
A recent online survey with just over 150 responses voted 64 per cent in favour of demolishing the Listowel Memorial Arena, which costs the municipality around $40,000 a year to keep open as is.
Hardie said initially the municipality reached out through a request for proposal to see if a third party wanted to operate the arena, but there wasn’t much response.