The Ministry of the Environment has told the city of Orillia it can build a multi-use recreation facility (MURF) on a downtown brownfield. According to the Packet & Times, the ministry indicated on Tuesday that it had approved the project’s certificate of property use for the West Street South location, after the city spent years and millions of dollars trying to ready the site for construction.
The latest approval comes after the certificate of property use was posted for public comment on the Environmental Registry. Consultants for the city responded to the public’s input and provided the ministry with their responses.
The ministry’s decision is still subject to a 15-day period during which any member of the public can launch an appeal to the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario.
But Mayor Angelo Orsi isn’t convinced the long-sought approval brings a West Street South rec centre any closer to reality. The mayor indicates that there all still many issues to look at before any decision is made.
In late 2002, the city purchased the West Street South property from Molson for $1. The site was contaminated with volatile organic compounds and the city hired consultants to draft a plan to manage the contaminants. There’s been numerous delays over the years and it’s estimated the cost of the project would be over 63-million dollars.
Council will discuss the ministry’s approval at its next meeting on Monday evening.
