Residents at Thornhill condo seek ‘splashy’ addition

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 3, 2015
By Simon Joseph

A refrigerated hockey rink may not be feasible for Grandview Park, says Thornhill Councillor Valerie Burke.

“It is very expensive. Out of budget,” she said Monday in a phone interview.

Options for transforming Grandview Park was the topic of discussion at a meeting Nov. 19, organized by the Grandview Area Residents Association in Markham.

About 70 people attended.

Those advocating for a hockey rink wanted a refrigerated rink surface, Burke said.

This was one of the options discussed - having a seasonal durable base for a community ice rink in winter and a skateboard park in summer.

Other projects previously proposed by the community and approved by council for consideration include a splash pad and a band shell / outdoor stage to host concerts, movies in the park and other events. Another alternative is a splash pad with outdoor washroom.

When the World on Yonge condominiums (just north of Steeles Avenue and south of Clark Avenue) were approved, $2 million was negotiated under the Planning Act for amenities in the nearby west Thornhill area.

Grandview Park is on the south side of Doncaster Avenue, behind Henderson Avenue Public School.

The purpose of the meeting was to get comments, so city staff could go back and refine concepts, Burke said, adding a splash pad has been the favoured project.

“If we had to choose one project, the splash pad should be the one chosen. It spans different age groups, parents and grandparents.”

Staff will look at the comments and budget and come back with a feasible solution, she said.

There was also discussion of the possibility of noise from the outdoor stage becoming a problem, Burke said.

The park is very much a baseball park, so the challenge is fitting in new uses and maintaining the baseball part, she said.

A staff report on the possibilities for Grandview Park is to be released next month.

“We want to see something happen in 2016,” said Burke, who had to leave the meeting early for a special council meeting.

Grandview Area Residents Association chairman Ricardo Mashregi pointed out that along with the capital costs, an operating budget for ongoing maintenance, has to be considered, too.

He wondered which venues Markham can afford according to the operating budget of the city and if the city’s operating budget can absorb costs.

The next step for the park transformation is city staff have to work out the operating budget.

Markham staff will prepare a brief to go before general committee. Markham council will then decide whether to give the plan final approval before the project goes out for tender, determining who will design and build the planned add-ons to the park.

Go to thornhillgara.com for more information.