To the Editor,

While we congratulate Minden Hills council on what appears to be a successful negotiation with the new Junior A hockey team, it is unbelievable that the Minden Sparks, Brownies and Guides weren’t advised directly about the effect of the agreement on their dedicated space within the Scout hall.

Council and staff have once again shown their lack of concern about informing the public on the plans for use of the new recreation centre. We keep hearing from the community services director about his intent to get all user groups together to discuss the allocation of use and storage in the facility. Ideas for programming were sought through a recreation survey undertaken a few months ago but to date, nothing has been communicated to the public on the results. The arena portion of the new facility has been put to great use as a vaccination site.

However, the remainder of the facility has remained vacant due to COVID-19 regulations.  What an ideal time for the administration to take the lead in moving forward with how the facility will be utilized once open. Several groups including pickle ball players; shuffleboard users; badminton/volleyball interests; would-be walking track enthusiasts; health club individuals and informal recreation potential clients await some sort of communication on how the non-ice facility is going to be programmed.
The delay in getting information from this council, although predictable, is inexcusable.

Gary Stoner
Bill Obee
Minden Hills