{"id":4239,"date":"2013-10-16T16:19:40","date_gmt":"2013-10-16T20:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=4239"},"modified":"2013-10-23T12:08:24","modified_gmt":"2013-10-23T16:08:24","slug":"complex-users-angry-at-upcoming-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/complex-users-angry-at-upcoming-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"Complex users angry at upcoming closure"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

Upcoming renovations for Aurora\u2019s new youth centre have left regular users of the Aurora Family Leisure Complex (AFLC) seeing red. <\/p>\n

Residents using the facility\u2019s pool and gym to keep fit aired their concerns last week saying they were not adequately consulted on pending construction at the complex and programs that will be affected.<\/p>\n

Extensive renovations are expected to start next month and continue through the fall of 2014. The objective is to make room for a Community Space for Youth and give the overall complex a facelift. <\/p>\n

The entire bill for the project is expected to clock in near $7.5 million. <\/p>\n

When the renos get underway, the popular running track will be closed, most pool and fitness programs will be transferred to the Stronach Aurora Recreation Complex (SARC) on Wellington Street near Leslie Street, and squash will be limited. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to congratulate you on the time you have taken in the last decade to research and consult for youth needs [in Aurora],\u201d said AFLC user Anne Raney last week, noting she appreciated the work to address youth needs. <\/p>\n

What she criticised, however, was Council\u2019s ultimate decision on picking an option that would cause service disruptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe architect\u2019s proposed design change radically changes quite a few things,\u201d she said. \u201cThe first option was to permanently locate the fitness area to a new area constructed at the Stronach and repurpose the area to a gymnasium at the Leisure Complex. Council endorsed the design of the new and renovated works at the AFLC as proposed by the architect. Now it is a renovated work of the entire building with youth elements within the building and also a one-storey addition for the fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Above all, Ms. Raney said it was the \u201cprocess\u201d that concerned her in that young stakeholders were consulted, but not users as a whole. While she applauded efforts made for younger people, she added seniors were \u201cvulnerable\u201d as well and disruptions to them should be taken into account.<\/p>\n

Also speaking out against the renovations was Claire Venna. A 15-year member of the AFLC, she said she was never consulted or told about the changes that would be taking place. She welcomed the \u201cfacelift\u201d coming to the building, particularly those serving youth, but was \u201coffended\u201d others weren\u2019t consulted to see what they would like to see in a revamped complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be a lot of people that would just be out of luck,\u201d she said of limited program space at the SARC. \u201cWe were never consulted and it was just a done deal. We were told this is just the way it is and we just find it very unfair. I just think maybe we should rethink, if it is not too late, and come up with a better solution that would fit the whole community and not just the youth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representing this \u201csenior\u201d group was Rob Jessop. Mr. Jessop highlighted the importance of cardiovascular exercise to the senior population, particularly for people with histories of strokes and heart attacks. The track at the Leisure Complex is an integral benefit to local health-conscious people of a certain age. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t get out and walk during the winter months and it is very difficult for them,\u201d said Mr. Jessop. \u201cThe sidewalks are slippery, they\u2019re afraid of falling, and they depend on that track to maintain their health. Let\u2019s face it: if the Centre is closed down for one year, it is quite conceivable it could be a heck of a lot longer than that. That is a large fraction of the life expectancy that is left for some of these people.
\n\u201cIt is very important to build a youth centre. Young people are important, but I think old people are important as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Al Downey, Aurora\u2019s Director of Parks and Recreation, a communication to all members of the Aurora Family Leisure Complex is due this week outlining many of the changes in store to AFLC programming. It includes a schedule of extra lane swims to be held at the SARC to accommodate some of the lost pool time, options to place memberships on hold until the Complex is fully back up and running, as well as refund options for memberships.
\n\u201cLoyalty Rewards\u201d will also be introduced to members of the Club Aurora fitness program entailing a free one-month extension to memberships once the building reopens next fall, as well as other bonus options beginning November 13. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe track is the only element within the Leisure Complex that is actually closing, all other [programs] are being moved or transferred to other locations and we\u2019re continuing those operations,\u201d Mr. Downey told The Auroran. \u201cWe want the people who are actively engaged to continue to be actively engaged, but unfortunately the track was the only casualty. We feel we have fulfilled the majority of the needs within the recreation community, but we weren\u2019t successful in being able to address every one.\u201d<\/p>\n

His department, he added, is looking at alternatives to the track including the tracks at Newmarket\u2019s Magna Centre, at the Trisan Centre in Schomberg, and possible walking programs at Upper Canada Mall.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Upcoming renovations for Aurora\u2019s new youth centre have left regular users of the Aurora Family Leisure Complex (AFLC) seeing red. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-16n","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-10 16:41:55","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4239\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}