Seniors Housing in Breslau

Hello Breslau,

As many of you would have received a notice in the mail about Breslau Mennonite Church's plan to sever off a section of vacant land on the north and northwest side of the church for an apartment building. (Zone Change Application) What you may not know is that this apartment building is being designed for a seniors community. Now as we can't discriminate against age is it labelled as a 4 storey apartment.  That being said, the marketing and the reach for renters will be exclusively geared towards healthy, independent seniors aged 55 and up. I am a member of Breslau Mennonite Church and I have been a member of the church committee working on this project since 2012. However, this committee had been working on this project for much longer than that.  I wanted to take some time to explain the history of this project and how we have now come to the community once again to discuss the zoning of this land and the construction of this project.

History

1989
A committee was formed to address the churches mission to help and support the seniors in the local community of Breslau.  The final recommendations of this committee was that Breslau Mennonite Church (BMC) should approach Forwell for the opportunity to purchase additional land around the church.

1996
Forwell approached the church and stated they were willing to sell the land that the church was requesting.  At the time, this land was to be used for cemetery expansion and potential development of seniors housing in future when such a project would be economically realistic.

1997
A deal was completed with Forwell including access to BMC from the subdivision that was being planned in the area north of the church.

2002
The trustees of the church and the committee recommended purchasing the house next door for the immediate need of expanding the parking area for BMC and to increase the potential size of a seniors development in the future.

2006 
BMC met with representatives from Empire Communities the new owners and developers of the Riverland subdivision.  BMC requested the service opportunities as per the Forwell agreement which they honoured.

2010
Woolwich Township Needs and Capacity Survey identified an immediate need for housing geared toward seniors throughout the township, particularly in Breslau as the community was rapidly expanding.  When BMC approach the township at this time they were extremely supportive of the concept.

2011
Empire Communities serviced the streets around the church which included sewer, water and storm water outlets to the property line.  Church membership at this time reaffirmed the mission to build a property development geared towards seniors in Breslau.  The committee became more focused on developing more defined site plans.

2012
Church consulted with professional planners and engineers on what would be feasible on the site.  Through the discussions it was recommended that BMC purchase the last remaining property between the church and the Empire subdivision.  This was presented to the church membership and it was passed.  The church proceeded to purchase the property and the remove the buildings and decommission the lot.  This allowed for more options and access to the future seniors development.

The committee began to seriously solicit developers who would partner with BMC to make the 20+ year old vision become a reality.  A number of developers were contacted during this time.

May 18, 2012
The township held a public meeting about the Breslau Secondary Plan.  The plan presented at this meeting and as part of the over all plan it stated that the lands outlined by BMC for the seniors housing development were pre-zoned as medium density residential.

November 14, 2012
BMC held an open house meeting at the church providing an update to some of BMC new neighbours.  BMC was concerned that since many new residents of Riverland had moved in to the new subdivision they may not have been aware of this project.  Flyers were distributed throughout the subdivision specifically to the houses that were backing onto BMC property.  At this meeting BMC indicated that a small field of new trees that had been planted several years earlier would be available to the residents of Breslau if they were looking at creating a natural barrier between the seniors development and their home.

This meeting was attended mostly by hopeful seniors who were looking for a chance to stay in Breslau in their later years.  Many questions were asked about the size of the units, how many units would be available, parking, etc.  Several of BMC new neighbours were concerned about the loss of the natural space that they thought they were living beside.

2013
Various iterations of the Breslau Secondary plan are discussed some of the versions had a potential school located behind the church and others had possible commercial or medical facilities.  All plans during this time still stated the church lands as medium density residential.

2014
Formal applications were made to the township to continue the development.  BMC wanted to have township sign off before formalizing a relationship with a developer.  However, there where many applications relating to Breslau at that time (Thomasfield, Empire, Smart Centres, etc.) and the secondary plan was being contested.  The township also informed us of cross border servicing agreements with Kitchener needed to be worked out.  BMC cautiously continued talking to potential developers knowing that they would not be able to formalize a relationship until the secondary plan was fully in place.

2016
A developer was selected as a partner in good faith who had developed these types of buildings before and had experience with setting up and maintaining them.  The committee and the developers planners passed plans and priorities back and forth.  BMC was then faced with a decision to sever off the land and sell to a developer, or hold the land and become a full partner with the development.  Throughout many discussions it was decided that BMC would sell the land to the developer pending various conditions.

2017
The offer of purchase was accepted both by BMC and the developer after the developer conducted various tests on the property.  The developer came back to BMC with what they decided was a viable project plan.  

2018
The develop came back to BMC with a site plan for a 4 story apartment at the back of the property with a parking lot between the building and the edge of the property line to try and minimize the impact on the new houses that were built by Empire Communities.  In order for the developer to officially break ground and begin construction a finalized zoning change was required.

February 6, 2018 - Public Meeting Zone Change Application
For everyone who has concerns or would like to learn more about this process there will be a public planning meeting occurring at the Township Council in Elmira the meeting begins at 7:00pm.

Ok So What Now

That was a long piece of history to help you understand that this isn't some developer who is just trying to cram more people in Breslau.  This is not the township trying to make Breslau into some type of urban jungle. This has been a meticulously thought out and scrutinized plan that has been a mission of Breslau Mennonite Church for 30 years.  This project is specifically and directly geared towards seniors who have spent their lives building and defending Breslau.  Those healthy seniors who no longer want the responsibilities of the large properties they live on but want to stay connected to their community.  This project is a thank you to them and a sign of deep respect that they are valued members of our community.

Now just like all projects I know there is a voice out there of people who do not want this project to go forward.  I respect their voice and I respect their opinion.  I also understand that a petition that has been started on Change.org to protest this project.  If I have not convinced you otherwise and you don't want this to happen then you should visit their petition and voice your opinion.  I have read through some of their statements and frankly, I disagree.

This project is directly in the character of Breslau supporting those who have build our town.  Were you not moved by the support of Herb and his team when they were generously granted a free lunch by members of our community.  Many more members of the Breslau community are just like Herb as they have poured their heart and soul in the place that we now get to enjoy just for moving in a few years ago.  This project isn't for you, it is for them!

This project will not be an eye sore, the church has painstakingly vetted developers who will realize our vision.  We as a church will be living beside this building just as close as you and we can't move out.  It is in our best interest to make sure it is a beautiful building.  Considering that BMC bought and took down two older properties on Woolwich street that were not in the best repair, the comparison to what will be built is a bit of a silly one.  In addition, this building is intentionally being set back away from Woolwich street for a safe place for seniors to get themselves in and out of their homes. 

I am sorry that you moved into your property without realizing that the land behind you was not designated green space or a park.  I am sorry that the developer didn't mention that as far back as 2012 it was deemed to be future medium density.  I am sorry that your view will be altered, but I must say your house has altered the view that we have had in the church but we knew you were coming and we welcome you to our community.  The church still has strong young trees that we have offered to residents in the past and if you are interested in getting a tree please let me know and I can get you in touch with people who can make that happen.

I am not a realtor so I can't say anything about property values and how a seniors building would affect them.  What I can tell you that if the church did not purchase these three different properties back in 1989, 2002, and 2012 then you would be backing on to houses anyway.

I obviously strongly support this project and I am will to talk with anyone about their concerns.  I personally don't know whether a 4-story or 3-story building or something else is the correct type / size of building to put in this space but to care for our earth is to intensify our residential spaces where appropriate. We are in a growing community and as we grow our residents age, if not here in this building in the heart of our community then where do you recommend they go?  If they can't take care of a property on their own what do you recommend they do?  This project keeps families together and keeps friends and neighbours together.  I believe in the churches vision and I again believe in something that benefits us now and in the future.

I look forward to the debate.

Breslau in Dialog

Breslau Community Centre, April 24, 2016 - Photo Credit: Sonya Willsher

Township of Woolwich Open House

This past Sunday (April 24) the Township of Woolwich held an open house at the Breslau Community Centre Gym. There were many representatives from the township present including most of Council, the Mayor and senior members of township staff.  I know that I had very good conversations about the parks, Menno Street, soccer, traffic and the potential of a Breslau library branch.  Most importantly, I was interested in how we as a community can work together with the township to improve where we all live.

If you did not have a chance to participate in these discussions the township has posted an online survey that you can use to respond: http://woolwich.survey.esolutionsgroup.ca/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=l8LInp3. I would encourage you to take a few moments to share your thoughts with the township so they can be considered as we all move forward together.

Refugee Sponsorship Fundraising Concert

Deacons of Jazz Concert this Saturday, April 30 at 7:00 at Breslau Mennonite Church. A 6-member band, playing a mix of jazz and pop pieces with their own Deacons’ sound. This is a fundraiser for our Refugee Sponsorship. Freewill offering; receipts given for all donations over $20. Coffee, refreshments and great music!

Youth Fundraising Garage Sale

Breslau Mennonite Church youth fundraiser garage sale will be held on Saturday May 7, 8:00 am-1:00 pm. They will be hosting this sale at the church rain or shine on Saturday, May 7, 2016.  Last year there was lots of big items donated for this sale.  So kick off the garage sale season with this event.  You can help by donating gently used items, dropped off Thursday May 5, 7:00 - 9:00 pm or Friday, May 6 during office hours.  Items at the sale will include: new handcrafted items, baking, perennials as well as various household items. The biggest help you can provide is to come down to the sale and hunt for some bargains, dont forget to bring your neightbours with you.

Community Gardens, Community Open House, and Community Building

Community Garden

This past weekend you may have had a chance to run into a member of Breslau Mennonite Church handing out post cards like the image above.  In the fall of 2014, a group emerged from Breslau Mennonite Church expressing interest in exploring the possibility of a community garden. After doing some research, they decided to commence with a ‘test’ garden to see how the growing conditions were and to see if a community garden could in fact be something to strive for in the future.  The summer of 2015 proved to be a very bountiful one for the test garden and planning has persisted throughout the winter to prepare for an open community garden for the residents of Breslau to enjoy.

This group is now pursuing interest into the community for people to sign up for a plot.  I know that the number of prepared garden plots are limited but if there is interest there could always be an expansion.  I would encourage you to check out https://breslaugardens.wordpress.com/ if you are interested in more details on this project. We can literally grow as a community with this project.

Breslau Community Open House

The Township of Woolwich wants to hear from you! They are hosting an open house to continue the dialog with the people of Breslau on how we want to grow and develop our community.  This is not a Riverland / Old Breslau / Hopewell event, this is a Breslau event.  I would encourage everyone to make your community a priority and reinforce our resolve to grow and develop into a vibrant neighbourhood.  

The contacts for this event are Mayor Shantz (mayor@woolwich.ca), Councillor Martin (mmartin@woolwich.ca), Councillor Shantz (lshantz@woolwich.ca), and CAO Brenneman (dbrenneman@woolwich.ca).

The township wants to support us as we grow and we need to partner with them for our own success.  Breslau's future can only be realized with an open and honest partnership with the township.  Please make an effort to drop by the community centre from 1:00-4:00 pm on Sunday, April 24th.

Community Splash Pad

We are entering into another spring (when nature realizes it is spring), and the Breslau Lions club are preparing to reinvigorate the splash pad project. This project has received many ups and downs but it has also received a lot of support from the community in the past.  Keep this project in mind as we plan for Breslau's future together. You can check out their facebook page or their website http://www.breslaugrandsplash.ca/ to keep updated on the project.  Jeff and Michelle Barnard along with Joanna Brunnenmeir would be your best bet to contact if you want to get involved.

I "borrowed" this from the Lions facebook page.

Breslau / Bloomindale Refugee Sponsorship Project

Just like any large project worth undertaking things always seem to move slower than you would emotionally like them to.  There are a variety of initiatives progressing with this project as we work to build a support network for the eventual family.  At this time we have raised the required $30 000 and members of both churches have been formed into several working groups focusing on education, employment support, family finances, healthcare, housing, life support, fundraising, community integration, etc.  The majority of the initial paperwork that is required by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), our sponsorship agreement holder, has been completed; after which we will be placed on a matching list for a family. MCC has indicated that the matching process has slowed down recently but they are receiving profiles on a bi-weekly basis, and currently have 34 groups waiting to be matched. They match based on profile availability and our group’s criteria. Our criteria is a family of 4-6 (ideally 5), and may include young children and/or teenagers. We are open to receiving a refugee family from other countries besides Syria.  Even though we have raised the minimum amount of money, we do not yet know the needs that our family will have or what other expenses we may incur.  In that light, a fundraising event is planned for April 30, 2015 with the Deacons of Jazz at Breslau Mennonite Church. Stay tuned for more updates.

Is there anything you want to add?

If you would like to share anything with the Breslau community and you would like to use my blog to help make that happen please get in touch with me at matthewlvandermeer2@gmail.com.  We are a diverse community and we can continue to find success together if we reach out to each other and grow together.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers.

Refugee Sponsorship with Breslau Mennonite Church

Breslau has experienced rapid growth in the last 5-10 years and we are all learning about each other as we work to build our local community.  There are many in our community that are new and there are many who have been here for a very long time.  Breslau means something different for everyone, and we all have different expectations for our future.  Breslau Mennonite Church has been a part of Breslau for more than 100 years.  You have probably driven by and maybe you have even attended a service, dinner, wedding or funeral there.  Many things have changed in our community and in our world in that time.  I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about a response to recent global events bering undertaken by Breslau Mennonite Church and Bloomingdale Mennonite Church.  These two congregations have agreed to partner together on a private refugee sponsorship project for a refugee family of 4/5. The Canadian Government defines refugees as people who are outside their home country or the country where they normally live, and who are unwilling to return because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on: race; religion; political opinion; nationality; or membership in a particular social group, such as women or people of a particular sexual orientation.

You have been hearing about 25 000 refugees in the news lately and how the Canadian Government has pledged to settle this number in Canada by the end of February. The first thing that we need to differentiate is government sponsorship vs private sponsorship.

For government sponsored refugees the government at all levels and their various agencies are 100% responsible for the well-being of each family.  These are the refugees that usually end up housed in military bases or hotels until other accommodations are available.

For private sponsored refugees a sponsoring agency or group is responsible for the daily needs of the refugees.  The sponsoring group needs to raise a minimum of $30 000 and then commit to ensuring the matched refugee family's daily needs are met for their first year in Canada.  The idea behind a private sponsorship is a large support network of individuals (not necessarily government agencies) will do the work to get the refugees settled. This includes but not limited to: housing, education, the search for jobs, arranging health care, ensuring school age children have adequate supplies, food, assisting in social connections with the local communitym and seeking social supports with others sharing similar stories.  This doesn't mean that government resources cannot be used but it is up to the private group to apply for and make use of these resources.

This private sponsorship will be a part of Mennonite Central Commitee's (MCC) refugee program.  As such, it will have the strong suppot from MCC, giving this project a firm foundation.

Diversity isn't just sound social policy. Diversity is the engine of invention. It generates creativity that helps change the world. We know this in Canada.

-- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Davos

The Waterloo Region is well prepared to welcome refugees and a website has been developed (WR Welcomes Refugees) listing a large number of resources available. With this post, I am inviting anyone in the local Breslau community who is interesting in being a part of this initiative to please get in contact with me at matthewlvandermeer2@gmail.com or by contacting Breslau Mennonite Church at 519-648-2501 or office@breslaumc.ca.

Sometimes we hear about stories in the news and we want to do something to help, this is your opportunity to help.  Breslau Mennonite Church just voted to approve this project this week.  This means that the project is in its infancy but we are preparing for a 1-4 month timeline to be matched with a refugee family and have that family arrive in the region.  Once we know more about the family and what their needs are we will again be making appeals to the community.

The poem to the left was written and performed by Shane Koyczan during the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies, it tells of a vision of Canada that is inspiring. We are a fortunate people in a fortunate country. We must do what we can to help those who have struggled in difficult circumstances.

Thank you for considering this opportunity.

Breslau Memorial Park will Not be Sold for Catholic School

Woolwich Council stated throughout this process that they wanted to solicit as much feedback as possible on the proposed partnership between the WCDSB and the Township.  As outlined in my previous post, we have spent the last year debating this project and soliciting feedback.  Council decided to hold a council meeting at the Breslau Community Centre on January 12, 2016 as the final debate on this proposal.  In total, approximately 60 delegations either spoke or included a written submission to this meeting.  Over 80% of those delegations spoke against the project.
The meeting was more than 3 hours long and it proceeded quite quickly with very few disruptions.  Once the delegations had finished, the tension in the room was thick and emotion got the better of some of the audience as the councillors made their statements. In the end, the council was split and 3 voted for selling the land (S. Shantz, M. Murray, S. Hahn) and 3 voted against selling the land (P. Merlihan, L. Shantz, M. Bauman).  A split vote means that the motion fails and the 4-acres of Breslau Memorial Park are not declared surplus and they cannot be sold.

Following the vote Mayor Shantz stated that she did not have any desire to bring this up again and council vowed to let this project die and instructed staff to communicate the results of the vote to the WCDSB. In response, the WCDSB sent out a letter to the families at St. Boniface, stating they were disappointed at this result.  The letter also included information on an alternative option for the new school in Breslau.

"The board currently has a school site reserved in Breslau and we will move forward with construction of the new school as soon as possible, subject to completion of an on-going municipal planning process.  We anticipate the planning process will be concluded in the next 12 months. Our hope, therefore, would be to have our new school built and open by September 2019."

I am happy to hear that the school board has other options and the delay caused by not going forward with the proposed partnership seems to be about 1 year.

This story in the news:

• Breslau’s chance to step up after council decision
• D'Amato: Democracy prevailed in Breslau school decision
• No school on Breslau parkland, council decides
• Elementary school won’t be built in Breslau’s only park
• Plan to build school in Breslau Memorial Park turfed

The question now becomes what next?

 Residents of Breslau were deeply divided on this project and at times, both sides of the debate crossed a few lines.  We are still neighbours and we still need to work to build community.  A small group of residents have started some preliminary discussions about how we can move forward.  At this time we do not have the answers, we probably don't even know all the questions.  We have reached out to the township for direction and we look forward to the ongoing discussions both with Councillors and staff, as well as all residents of Breslau.  There will be many opportunities for large numbers of people to get involved as we move forward.  For now, we have created a Facebook page to help start the conversations with our neighbours.  You can view that page at https://www.facebook.com/BuildingBreslau/.

Dialogue and involvement with the entire Breslau community is the only way to ensure success and I look forward to being a part of that success.

Preserving Breslau Memorial Park for the Children

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and you are enjoying a festive end to 2015.  It has been quite a year, a year that I will cherish whatever 2016 brings.  I have met some amazing people and I have begun to form a bond with the community I live in.  My last post was more than a month and a half ago; I was feeling quite discouraged as I attended a variety of council meetings and felt that the newest portion of Breslau Memorial Park would be sold and there was nothing more I could do.  As we celebrate the end of 2015 there is suddenly a glimmer of hope.  To start things off I want to provide you a year in review summary of the events of 2015 pertaining to Breslau Memorial Park.

• January 2015 - Township Of Woolwich announces a project in partnership with WCDSB
• January 28, 2015 - Green space more important than new school
• February 4, 2015 - Protect green space call to action
• February 4, 2015 - Petition Launched to protect Breslau Memorial Park
• February 5, 2015 - Breslau Catholic elementary school partnership
• February 7, 2015 - Breslau Memorial Park is more than green space
• February 18, 2015 - Traffic and safety concerns - new school
• February 26, 2015 - First public meeting on the project
• March 1, 2015 - Breslau post meeting synopsis - trust issues
• April 1, 2015 - State of the park address
• April 21, 2015 - Council announces Task Force members (minutes)
• May 6, 2015 - Development charges, a Task Force, and a rally
• May 19, 2015 - Breslau Task Force on WCDSB proposal
• June 27, 2015 - Breslau public meeting on school proposal - July 8, 2015
• July 8, 2015 - Public meeting on the project facilitated by the Task Force
• September 8, 2015 - WCDSB new Breslau school - update
• September 29, 2015 - First vote on the project, 3-2 against proceeding (minutes)
• September 30, 2015 - Ball in Breslau's court - community building
• October 2, 2015 - WCDSB sends letter indicating they have other options
• October 6, 2015 - Second vote on the project, 4-2 support proceeding (minutes)
• October 6, 2015 - Councillor Bauman flip flops sells parkland
• October 20, 2015 - First vote on the intent to declare surplus, 4-2 support (minutes)
• October 22, 2015 - Breslau can build a better Breslau
• October 27, 2015 - Intent to declare surplus is carried, starting 30-day requirement period (minutes)
• November 3, 2015 - Selling parkland a Township of Woolwich thing - Victoria Glen
• December 8, 2015 - Council delays surplus declaration decision until January 12, 2016
• December 15, 2015 - Township changes location of January 12 meeting to Breslau

The regularly scheduled Jan 12, 2016 Committee of the Whole mtg has been moved to Breslau. The mtg will begin at 6pm at the Community Centre

— Township of Woolwich (@Woolwichupdates) December 15, 2015

It is hard to believe all of that has happened, we have been along for quite a ride.  The Council meeting on January 12, 2016, will be your last chance to have your say about the Township selling a section of Breslau Memorial Park. Please come to the Council Meeting and let Council know that our parkland is not for sale.  We have had a year of meetings, press releases, media inquiries, official reports, arguments, and discussions.  We now fully understand what this project means to us now and to Breslau's future. In our ever-growing community, our parkland needs to be protected. Once it is sold we will never be able to get it back and we will lose control of what gets built on and around this area. Bringing the Jan.12th meeting to Breslau is courageous step by the township and a head-on challenge to those fighting for the park. Many have gone to council numerous of times stating that Breslau does not want this.  We have made it clear that Breslau can move forward without this deal and we will be better off for it.  We now ask you to show Council that our statements held meaning. The baton is now passed to you to demonstrate that Breslau does not want this, we need you to show your support and not only attend this meeting but also register as a delegate. This will not be an open mic information session, it will be a regular meeting of Council and certain procedures will be in place. If you would like to speak at this meeting you will need to register as a delegate.  Information below is taken from the township website:

Persons wishing to appear before a regular meeting of Council or Committee shall notify the Council and Information Services Department no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the date of the meeting. Generally, all delegations are heard at Committee meetings rather than Council meetings. A person may register to be listed as a delegation on the revised Council or Committee agenda no later than 12:00 noon on the day of the meeting, only if the delegation wishes to address Council or Committee regarding a current agenda item.

If you wish to include any handout or presentation materials as part of your presentation, or if you require the use of a laptop and/or projector for your presentation, please contact Council and Information Services no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the date of the meeting at 519-669-1647 ext. 6115 to advise staff of your requirements.

I am encouraging everyone to register and make your voice be heard. Delegations do not need to be long prepared speeches with an excellent punch line.  It can be as simple as, "Hello, my name is [name] and I am a resident of Breslau.  I [do / do not] support the sale of public parkland to the WCDSB for the purpose of building a school." If you would like to address Council please complete the Online Delegation Request Form or call 519-669-1647 ext. 6115 to register.

Personally, my goal is to have 100 delegates registered by January 7, 2016.  If you do not speak against this project by stating you are opposed, it will be interpreted as having no opinion. There has been much talk about the "silent majority" and what direction they will support. You need to attend this meeting and register your opinion as a delegation.  It is possible for Council to open the floor to unregistered delegations, but you cannot assume this will happen. Council has made a significant gesture by moving this meeting to Breslau, we must respond with our participation in significant numbers.

I would like to make clear that a new catholic elementary school will be built in Breslau even if Council chooses to not to sell our future.  When council voted against the project back on September 29, 2015.  The WCDSB immediately sent out a letter to the current students of St. Boniface, indicating that there were other options and they would be able to proceed with a new plan within 3-5 years.  This isn't about a new school, this is about Breslau's future after it grows into a city over the next 50 years.  Forests don't grow overnight and they don't grow through school buildings or asphalt playing surfaces. Right now Council has an opportunity to preserve this land when other lands are under used all around Breslau.  In the future, the pressure to build will only become more intense and large greenspace parks will be that much more valuable.

Something else to note is that during the Jan. 12 meeting there will also be discussion about changing the name of Breslau Memorial park, along with the other changes displayed in the table below:

Current Name	Proposed New Name
Former Riverland Sales Cente	The Empire Room
Breslau Memorial Park	Breslau Memorial Park (In memory of Private Donald Ralph Burkholder and all War Veterans)
Woolwich Township Arena	St. Jacobs Arena
Woolwich Community Centre	St. Jacobs Lions Hall

Please consider registering as a delegate for the meeting on January 12, 2016.  We need your support and your involvement now more than ever before. I hope you have a fun and safe New Years eve.

Thank you!

Selling Parkland a Township of Woolwich thing - Victoria Glen

While researching specific historical Township of Woolwich policy a friend came across a parkland battle between the Township of Woolwich and residents. I am referring to a battle over about three acres of the park in the area of Synder Avenue, Dunke Street and Victoria Glen Street in Elmira.  The image above is a recent google street view of the area.  The comparisons between the battle for Victoria Glen and our fight for Breslau Memorial are scary similar.

The township was contemplating surplussing a part of these lands for the construction of a subdivision.  I was able to find a blog entitled Preserve Victoria Glen Park, that supporters of the park were maintaining to convince the township that the short term gain of money was not worth the long term loss of this space. I should note that the Township Council at the time were: Councillor Sandy Shantz, Councillor Murray Martin, Mayor Wm. L. (Bill) Strauss, Councillor Mark Bauman, Councillor Ruby Weber.

The following are quotes published in the Woolwich Observer that discuss this situation. I have pulled a few quotes from each article if you don't have the time to read them all.

Residents unite to save Victoria Glen - June 19, 2009

• “It’s a valuable resource. It’s not the money that’s the value, it’s the forest, the green space,”

Sale of parkland to fund township’s building blitz - June 26, 2009

• “We are the keepers of this land, and we’re doing a poor job of it,” said Ken Reger, who has lived within sight of this area for his entire 76 years.
• “As someone else said, ‘surplus green space’ is an oxymoron.”

Resistance called for when change isn’t for the better - June 26, 2009

• “ "Potential" looked a whole lot more like "certain" at the revelation Woolwich is counting on the development of the land to pay for its aggressive capital spending.”
• “But not all change is for the better, and there’s nothing wrong with nostalgia in good measure. The people who realize those facts are the ones lined up to oppose Woolwich’s plans for Victoria Glen.”

Woolwich to borrow $3.72 million for new buildings - October 2, 2009

• “The only remaining building project, the Breslau community centre, is expected to have no impact on borrowing or other financing arrangements. Just under construction, the $2.2-million facility received a joint federal-provincial grant that covers two-thirds of the cost. The township’s share will be covered through development charges collected on new construction and from money raised by the community.”

Showdown looms over Victoria Glen development plan - October 30, 2009

• “We’re very disappointed,” said Elmira resident Cheryl Fisher in an interview this week. “It seems the money is more important than preserving this area.”
• “David Brenneman, Woolwich’s chief administrative officer, called the plan a fair compromise, turning 20 per cent of the park into needed cash while helping the township meet provincial requirements for infilling projects rather than so-called greenfield development.”
• “It’s not just Victoria Glen – it could be any park in town. We have to fight for our green space,” said Orr.
• “They keep going on that ‘it’s only 20 per cent.’ It’s not. It’s much more than that.”

Park debate shape of things to come - October 30, 2009

• “Who’s to say future needs for cash won’t be addressed by the sale of assets?”

You can fight city hall … And win - November 13, 2009

• “The end was something of an anticlimax, but residents went away happy Tuesday night as Woolwich council scrapped a proposal to build a residential subdivision in a portion of Elmira’s Victoria Glen Park.”
• “Councillors did not deliberate for long before voting unanimously to drop the proposal”

Securing Elmira’s Victoria Glen as green space

• “With this transfer also comes the promise that the two parcels – which are currently zoned as residential – will be rezoned as open space along with the rest of the seven-acre park to effectively protect it from any future development.”



CAO David Brenneman after the decision to scrap the project.

• “For Orr and Cowan, the message sent to the rest of the region by Elmira’s decision to put the interests of its citizens over the almighty dollar by protecting the forest and the green space is an important one, particularly given the township’s recent movement towards planting more trees, not cutting them down.”
• “I hope that this is an inspiring thing for other people and organizations. There is strength in numbers and if enough people believe in it and come together, that’s how things change in the world.”

Back to Breslau

I was enlightened by reading these stories and I am more than happy with how these residents came together to fight for this space.  I was enlightened because I had no idea that this fight was going on, we as a township need to learn more about each other.  We can't complain about Elmira until we take the time to understand the issues they are dealing with.  The purpose of this post is to connect our struggle with theirs, they won against the shortsightedness of easy money and it looks like we will face the opposite result.  I sincerely hope that in the future when the next group of residents takes on short sighted politicians the words that I have written here and the words written by Preserve Victoria Glen Park will give them direction and hope.

As a Breslau resident you should receive a written notice about the intent to declare 4 acres of Breslau Memorial Park surplus.  This is a required step in order to sell the land to the WCDSB.  Normally this notice is only sent to homes near the affected area.  However, Councillor Bauman requested that this notice be sent to everyone in the settlement area of Breslau.  This will be your last chance to voice your opposition.  Victoria Glen was saved because of sheer numbers, we need to have a significant response to that notice.  That response needs to be from new people and from more people, if you have not made your voice heard, that notice will be your chance (contact the township council).

Back to the Woolwich Councillors

So now this brings me to my conclusion, I am very interested to ask the following to Mayor Shantz, Councillor Bauman and Councillor Martin:

Did you get the Victoria Glen park wrong?  Has the years since 2009 made you rethink that project and wish that you would have made an alternate decision?

Councillor Martin likes to remind us about the Wal-Mart decision, and the Race Track decision.  Why has he not mentioned the Victoria Glen decision?  A decision made unanimously by Councillors to scrap this plan that has the highest parallels to our situation.

Breslau can Build a Better Breslau

It is truly incredible how a small 4 acre piece of property can bring people together.  The view above is from the opposite corner of the park then most of my other photos with the community centre off to the left of the image.

There has been so many votes, discussions, meetings, arguments, counter arguments, presentations and media coverage on this project.  If you haven't been following it all feel free to scroll through the posts. Today I would like to introduce Building Breslau.

Building Breslau is a group of Breslau residents that are working to save our park land from being sold by the Township of Woolwich.  We have started a PLEDGE DRIVE to show the Township of Woolwich that Breslau will support volunteer fund raising efforts to build a library and provide amenities for the parks of Breslau IF council decides NOT to sell the park land to the Catholic school board.

This last statement is key, we are concerned that residents will have no desire to donate to our community projects if they feel the township could use those projects as bargaining chips in the future.  I have personally heard residents say this about the fundraising that took place for the current community centre gymnasium.  Approximately $400 000 was raised and now the township is using it as a bargaining chip with the WCDSB.  Consider this for a moment, would the school board be interested in building in this location if residents had not raised that amount of money?  If the community centre gym was never built would a school want to locate there? Residents now feel betrayed by their own generosity.  A long time member of the Breslau community spoke to council on October 20th and asked for his money back.  Whether you think this is a justified reaction or not, it is a real feeling that exists in past donors and something we need to consider moving forward.

Front entrance to Breslau Community Center

Building Breslau is not asking for actual money at this time, just a pledge of your support. Public discussion and setting priorities need to happen before we ask for money. Once monies are collected, they will be held in trust by a 3rd party charity, not the township. All donations will be processed through a registered charity for tax receipt purposes.

Pledges can be spread over a period of up to 5 years if needed, and if you have a specific item you would like to support (library, splash pad, etc), you can specify that on the PLEDGE FORM.

Front entrance garden at Breslau Memorial Park

Please help show your support to save Breslau Memorial Park and show council that people will support fundraising efforts to help build Breslau. For more information, or to make a pledge, please contact BuildingBreslau@gmail.com.

The petition launched at the outset of this project in February has 264 signatures opposing the sale of this park land, demonstrating the opposition to this project.  However, this is the last push.  If council is not convinced that maintaining these 4 acres as parkland is in the best interest of Breslau, we have to decide what to do next.  We must come together to form our community by working together.  I am hoping for some nice weather on Saturday because I have been invited to work on cleaning up the front garden of Breslau Memorial Park.  Hidden in this mess (photo above) are 3 memorials that hold a significant connection to Breslau's history.  I will be meeting others there just after lunch this Saturday to work on this garden.  We can't just say we are a community, we need to be a community.

To reiterate the point, Building Breslau is NOT asking for your donation now (although there is a Lions club in Breslau that would love to talk with you about a Splash Pad).  This is a preliminary pledge to demonstrate to council what is possible when they believe in our community.  To close out this post I will leave you with this:

The name for Breslau Memorial Park was inspired by Private Donald Ralph Burkholder, who was killed in action during WW2 on October 29, 1944, he was 20 years old.  He was a member of the South Saskatchewan Regiment in the Canadian Army. He was the Son of Clarence and Effie May Burkholder of Breslau.

Councillor Bauman Flip Flops Sells Parkland

This post will be a short one but a necessary one.  It will be short because if I continue to write I will most likely say something I may regret and this is the internet.

Tonight, October 6, 2015 I attended another council meeting.  This meeting by the agenda was supposed to be directing staff on what to do based on last weeks decision by council to not move ahead with the school plan.  However, it turns out that last weeks vote was in a Committee of the Whole meeting which, as I have just learned, is pointless and a waste of everyone's time.  The actual vote on the project occurred this evening.

There were 11 delegations registered to speak in support of the project which most of us through was the purpose of last weeks meeting.  However, I look back on it now and Mayor Shantz wanted to postpone the vote to tonight but Councillor Bauman felt that since so many people came out they should vote that evening.  In that vote Bauman rejected the school proposal.  I have realized that this was a challenge call out to the other side to realize that they may lose.  The other sided responded with 11 delegations.  Most of these delegations all had valid points and spoke passionately about the topic.  Others, unfortunately, felt the need to make up numbers and try to persuade councillors with seriously skewed and outright false facts.  I mean making up a number like $1 000 000 in extra costs if they don't build now is a mind boggling publicity stunt.

In the end Councillor Bauman asked the vote be revisited and he passionately stated his new position in support of the project.  This flip flop by Bauman and the expected support by Councillor Hahn left the council 3-2 in support (4-2 if you include the Mayors vote).

If Bauman would have voted yes last week providing a 3-2 support of the project I would have been disappointed but I would have accepted the outcome as the most inevitable.  This week I was emotionally charged by the new challenge ahead of me an the numerous volunteers that came forward to me this week.  We had an opportunity to come together and work on projects and actually build our community.  After this engaging week, watching Bauman flip flop was devastating.

Congrats everyone you will get a new school, despite the fact that you chose to live in Breslau knowing that your preferred school was an hour bus ride away.  I chose to live in Breslau to back onto a park, but I guess your school board has more money then my township.

What I feel is the biggest loss to Woolwich is the volunteers that came together to make something our of our park.  They are devastated and feel they have been shot in the back.  The businesses that have donated money in the past have now said they won't donate a dime.  I am interested to see the magic for how far this 1.75 million will go.  Once they use that up, that's it.

I am going to stop now.  Good night Breslau and good luck, because that picture at the top of this post, is just a memory.

Ball in Breslau's Court - Community Building

Last night, September 29, 2015, a Committee of the Whole meeting occurred in the Township of Woolwich council chambers on 24 Church Street in Elmira. The key issue of the night was a discussion of the WCDSB proposal to purchase land in Breslau to build a new elementary school.  The land in question is pictured above.  The goal of the school board was to partner with the township and share the gymnasium facilities.  This project was presented to the public in February 2015 if you are new to this situation scroll down through this blog to catch up on the details.  At the meeting last night the Councillors were to vote on accepting this proposal and moving  it to the next stage or denying it.

There were 9 delegations that registered to speak on the project, 6 of them (including myself) spoke against the project, 1 was neutral, and 2 were supportive of the project.  Everything about this project has demonstrated that the community was deeply and equally divided and this meeting was no different.

In the end there were 3 Councillors who voted against the project (Bauman, Merlihan, L.Shantz)  and 1 Councillor (Martin) and the Mayor (S.Shantz) who voted for the project.  Councillor Hahn was not present and did not vote.  

Before each of them voted they spoke about how difficult this project was to vote on.  Each side of this issue had valid points and had many supporters.  The specific details of this meeting, who said what, who was right, who made mistakes, who was misleading, and who was wrong are not important. I voted for Councillor Shantz, Councillor Martin and Mayor Shantz, if that vote was held again today I would vote for them again. They all did their job as best as they could and they represented those who voted for them. The reason the three Councillors voted against the project was because they were putting their trust in Breslau. They spoke loud and clear and with their votes and said, "Ok Breslau, if this isn't how you want your park to be upgraded, the ball is in your court.  What's the plan?"

I deeply respect Councillor Martin and Mayor Shantz for voting the way they felt was right.  Breslau is divided and so was council this is expected.  We live in a country were we can celebrate diversity and disagree with each other respectfully.  In the end my side won, but the sober evening after what does that mean? I remember the night I wrote my first blog post on this topic.  I thought in the back of my mind, "What if I win?" One of the delegation said something very true, he said, "If we don't do anything to the park for the next 20 years we are going to regret that we didn't take this deal."  I whole heartily agree with this statement.  We, as a community, now need to step up more than ever before, we have to live up to the trust that council has put into us.  No more complaining that Elmira gets everything, no more whining.  Now is the time for action!  We have to let the past drift away as we build our future.  I plan on being in Breslau for a long time and I want to make it a great place.

I would like to begin the healing process right now.  I want to reach out to everyone in Breslau and say what next?  How do we build our community into something we can all say we are proud of.  Our individual positions on this project are now irrelevant.  We have a community to build and maintain.  That is not up to Council, that is up to us.

Sonya Willsher spoke passionately at the meeting that we as Breslau can come together to do this.  Sonya wanted me to put the challenge out to Breslau.  If you want to be part of organizing and fundraising for new park equipment, facilities and/or library please contact either Sonya at s_willsher@hotmail.com or me at matthewlvandermeer2@gmail.com.  We want to recruit those in Breslau who want to build our community together.  This project has woken everyone up, now it is time to capitalize on that and get to work.  There have been many historical examples of great things that Breslau residents have done.  It is time for all of us new comers to do our part.

I would also like to reach out to the established groups already in Breslau, I am aware of the Lions Club and the Breslau Recreation Association.  Those groups already do great work in Breslau and we don't want to conflict their efforts. The Lion's Splash Pad project is an example of a project that has had significant amounts of work and hours of volunteer time put in.  This is a project we need to move forward now that this is cleared up. If there are any other groups in Breslau please let us know so we can be as coordinated and as efficient as we can.

I am excited about where we have come from and I am even more excited about where we are going.  Let us all go there together.

PS. GO Jays GO! AL East CHAMPS!!!!!!

WCDSB New Breslau School - Update

The saga of the new school proposal from the WCDSB continues.  Tonight I attended another Township of Woolwich council meeting, if you are ever interested in how our municipal government works I would strongly encourage you to check out the Council Meeting section of the Township of Woolwich website. I chose to attend this meeting because Sandra Hanmer, our Task Force chair, presented to council our final report.

If you haven't been following this story the Breslau/Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) Project Task Force was established by the Township of Woolwich Council at its March 31, 2015 meeting.  We are a committee of residents from Breslau who were tasked to look at more detail into a proposal from the WCDSB to purchase 4 acres of parkland in the middle of the Riverland community for the purpose of building a new Catholic elementary school.  More detail about the task force can be viewed in my State of the Park Address.

Sandra presented to council our findings, you can review the final report on your own if you are interested in further detail.  In my opinion the coles notes summary is as follows:

• The task force was split 3 in support, 2 undecided, and 2 against the project
• Pubic opinion was split 36.5% in support, 21.5% undecided, and 34.6% against the project
• Task force members spoke to 312 individuals by going door-to-door in Breslau's three distinct communities (Riverland, Hopewell, Old Breslau)
• The core components of this project have not changed since the first public meeting on February 26, 2015
• Selling of 4 acres for $1.75 million
• Expanding the school library and make it a public library
• Upgrades to the community centre gym
• Using proceeds of the sale to fund recreational upgrades to the park

All of the Councillors expressed a little disappointment and frustration that the split was as close as it was.  Despite the intense effort that we put in as the task force we still had 2 undecided members and only 1 person on the task force was swayed from their original opinion.

Following this presentation there were 2 official delegations.  First was a resident expressing her opposition to the project and second was the Manager of Planning for the WCBSB who expressed excitement to proceed with this project.  Councillor Bauman was interested in staff reviewing the recommendations from the task force on recommendation one to sell the land.

• Limiting portables on site to 4
• Requiring school board to build a secondary accessible play structure to ensure the community has access to the play structure in the public park
• Getting results from the WCDSB funded traffic study (Completed June 2015)
• Staggering bell times with WDSB to alleviate traffic into the community

The school board representative explained that the school they were closing (St. Boniface) has a population of 130, they plan to build for 250 with upper floor expansion of a 4-6 more class rooms and felt that a limit of 4 portables was doable but 6 would be better.  The WCDSB plan for 10 students from every 100 residential homes.  They would not be looking for more land even in another location in Breslau.  Councillor Hahn asked a great question, "[Since the public meeting on Feb 6] have there been any changed to the general plan?"  He didn't get an answer to this question but the answer is, "No." Nothing about the project has changed, this means the "public consultation" means "public information"  there isn't really hasn't been a dialog between residents and the project.

This is where the meeting turned to the funny (from my perspective), an unregistered delegation requested to speak and was given permission to do so.  He asked the council when they expected to have a motion on the floor that council would then vote on for this proposal.  No one had an answer for him, not even an approximate timeline, nothing!  I found this slightly bizarre, but hey what do I know.  I believe Councillor Bauman was saying something about staff recommendations or report on something, I didn't quite catch it.

As Council was trying to direct staff to what kind of information they were needed the question came back to the school board representative about time lines.  She mentioned that the best case scenario for their development process was 2 years from the time they get an official approval to when they can build the school.  Since schools are very time sensitive for a September 1 start date she request that a decision gets made as soon as possible.

Shortly after this and a mere 8 minutes after they said they couldn't say when they would table a motion to be voted on, our Mayor decided she liked recommendation one and stated, "If council has the appetite to accept it then [she] would recommend they adopt recommendation one."  I know that sounds strange and slightly on the other side of rational when they just told the delegation they would have no way of knowing when a motion would be on the floor to vote on and our Mayor decides 8 minutes later that now would be a good time.  Despite the extremely close split on public opinion, despite numerous time people accused the council that this was a done deal.  I just about lost my cool.  I had been telling residents for several months, this is not a done deal, trust our elected officials, they want to hear from you.  Then just like that on a whim she tries to put a motion on the floor.  There was a bit of confusion at this point but the proceedings were stopped due to a scheduled break.  

Nice unused spaced at the end
 of Andover Dr. in Brelsau

I had to go out to the hall to collect myself, was this actually happening.  I have admitted to myself throughout this whole process that I do not speak for all of Breslau (at least now I know I speak for about a third).  I have my views and others have theirs and this project is a win in the finance department for a cash strapped township.  I knew that I would most likely lose this battle but I didn't expect this.  I didn't expect our Mayor to try and slip in an unscheduled motion to sell 4 acres of parkland without even telling Breslau about it.  I was told that this was an information session not a vote.  If this was a vote I would have been more persuasive to those that talked to me about it.  I felt stunned.

Don't worry things get even more interesting from here.  On the resumption after the break, wisely there was no one to second the Mayors motion.  Councillor Bauman stated while he may agree on the recommendation this was not the appropriate place for a motion and a vote. Councillor Bauman worked to direct staff while the others stayed quiet.  Mayor Shantz immediately backtracked and agreed with that approach.  Then Councillor Merlihan mentioned the report came out late on a long weekend, there has not been an appropriate amount of time for feedback.  After this back and forth *magically* they were able to determine that the staff report would come back for the September 29 meeting and I am assuming there will be a motion on the floor during that meeting.  I guess the delegation that asked for the timeline got his question answered in the end.

So attention Breslau, regardless of your position on this proposal you need to check out the Council Meeting web page for the September 29 meeting.  I can assure you there will be a vote.  If you have new information or would like to highlight information in the report please register as a delegation and share with the Council. Delegations can register up to noon on the day of the meeting with the clerks division. Written comments can be emailed in on the Thursday before the meeting.

The next key part of information on this project also came out tonight (as if the above wasn't enough). In order to sell the land they need to declare the land surplus according to their procedures.  This would involve a public notice and then 30 days for feedback.  This procedure must happen after council votes in favour of selling the land.  So at the earliest the land could be considered surplus and sold at the end of October 2015.

Sunrise over the park

This post has taken far to long to write and now I am sleepy and I am not sure that any of it makes any sense.  I apologize for any of the creative grammar and spelling I may have used, feel free to point them out in the comments. I felt it was important to get this information out to the Breslau community as soon as I could.  I have many more questions that I don't have time to get into:

1. Will this create a precedent which essentially puts a "For Sale" sign on our underused public parkland in Woolwich?
2. How do we justify forcing developers to "donate" 5% of their assets as public parks and then we turn around and sell them for a profit?
3. Those who oppose the project are asking those who want to have the school to wait a few years and your school will be here regardless, if you build on this park now, it is gone forever.
4. Even if the school is built on the park, you can expect it to open in 2018.  I wonder how soon they could build on other open lands when the Secondary plan is approved?  Might be a year later 2019 and we still have a park?  Who knows?
5. What happens after the land is declared surplus?  Can anyone buy it?  If I win the lotto max this weekend and I offer 2 million for surplus land, then what?

I do not want to come across as an "out of control bully" or a disgruntled task force member who didn't get his way.  I want to know how we can make more people happy in Breslau then just 36.5%.  Do you have an idea, can we find a deal that benefits everyone or will we just have winners and losers and we are OK with that?  We need to grow Breslau as a single community.  How?