Renfrew’s Open House for three Master Plans had some critics

Renfrew – It was a busy night at the Renfrew Public Library last Monday (June 10) when the town hosted an Open House for three commissioned Master Plans. Although the intent was to showcase the plans as the culmination of more than a year’s work by staff, residents and the consultants, some of the crowd were fiercely critical of some recommendations.

Based on the level of frustration over the plans, it appears that criticism will become more active and vocal if a new proposed Bonnechere River trail is adopted.

The three Master Plans, the draft Arts, Heritage and Culture; Parks and Recreation and Waterfront were presented for additional community feedback.

The process started last October when council authorized budgets to be developed for each of the plans. In the case of the proposed Bonnechere River Trail, there was a comprehensive review of the plans and public consultation has been ongoing since last October. External advice has been sought on funding opportunities and potential partnerships with conservation groups and philanthropic organizations.

Arts, Heritage, and Cultural Master Plan

This initiative has been led by DCarr Community Solutions, a consulting firm that has met and engaged with residents, businesses and various sectors in a series of sessions. These efforts aimed to uncover the diverse tapestry of arts, culture and heritage woven into the community's fabric. The resulting master plan seeks to cultivate a profound appreciation for Renfrew's unique identity, spanning its past, present and future while supporting social needs, economic growth and tourism.

One of the early initiatives coming out of the meetings over the last year is the transformation of the Visitors Information Centre from a typical information centre to adding vibrant and colourful murals inside the centre. They were painted by local volunteers to reflect their impressions of Renfrew and the potential to increase the diversity of the population by presenting a more inclusive centre for both residents and visitors.

Parks and Recreation

Unfortunately, any mention of a new Parks and Recreation Master Plan is usually met with a cringe and lack of enthusiasm by most residents due to the financial disaster with the Ma-te-Way Expansion Project after it doubled its original $18.9 million budget to almost $37 million.

The new myFM Centre, once completed, will be the central hub of all things recreation in the town. It contains many modern recreation amenities such as two ice rinks, a gymnasium, two fitness centres, a dance studio, indoor walking track and more.

The 96,000 sq. ft. building is also the anchor for several sports fields designed for soccer, softball and football. It also serves as the link to a splash pad, outdoor children’s climbing equipment, and tennis and pickelball courts, a dog park, BMX Park and extensive walking trails. The plan takes into account the 14 parks currently maintained by the town along with the Millennium Trail. The aim is to make the facilities as attractive and inclusive as possible to entice families and individuals to become more active and involved in recreational activities

Additionally, it aligns with priorities and projects in the Waterfront Master Plan, ensuring a cohesive approach to community development.

Waterfront

The town is working to establish a nature park and trail along the Bonnechere River. The proposed land development would include approximately 200 to 250 acres of environmentally protected lands (non-developable), of which the majority is already owned by the town.

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There are two potential housing projects on the books for waterfront locations with one slated for the waterfront beside the RCAF Park on Ready Avenue and another near the base of the Swinging Bridge on the Bonnechere River.

However, it is the development and creation of a new volunteer group to spearhead a new and ambitious nature trail along the Bonnechere River that drew several residents to the open house to voice strong opposition to the project.

The Waterfront Master Plan recommends a continuous waterfront trail to provide an accessible connection to the Bonnechere River waterfront. The plan calls for the trail to be distinct from other trails and should be a minimum three-meters wide to be used for off-road trails whenever possible. It added the need for a distinct paving style/pattern.

The recommendation also calls for extensive signage to direct users on and towards the trail and ensure that connections are provided to existing and new waterfront parks, amenities and attractions needed.

Since early 2023, the town has been investigating the potential for establishing a linear park and trail system along an approximate 2.7 km stretch of the river. This park and trail system would utilize municipally and federally-owned lands

A new Bonnechere River and Trails Advisory Committee has been appointed and four volunteers will assist council staff to make recommendations for any future development of a trail system.

Within the draft document, there is one passage that has galvanized the creation of an opposition voice against proceeding forward.

The passage reads, “While the project has been scoped to lands that are owned by, or will be dedicated to the town, there is also future potential to expand the park lands and trail system to the east, subject to partnership with adjacent land owners.”

Meghan Cross and Nancy Smith, two Stevenson Crescent residents whose property would become part of the trail as outlined on the maps, are opposed to the trail.

Ms. Cross, who owns property that extends down to the river, said she is fearful if the trail is approved, there will be an influx of strangers walking through their private property and the unregulated and unsupervised trail could become a haven for mischief.

She showed this reporter security footage from cameras on her property and it was disturbing.

“Right there,” Ms. Cross said pointing to her cell phone’s viewing screen. “There he is in our backyard and you see him crouching beneath my 12-year-old daughter’s bedroom window. Thank God our backyard lights kicked on and he was spotted. Anyone lingering in a private backyard in the middle of the night is up to no good. We called the police but he was long gone.”

She said if there is a trail, this could be a regular occurrence.

“Who is monitoring the proposed trail? I am not entering any agreement to have a trail run through my back yard because this town cannot supervise the 14 parks it owns along with the trails.

“Staff cannot keep up with the garbage and ongoing maintenance of the parks and trails already and now they want to add a nearly three-kilometer trail on top of everything else?”
She questioned how it will be funded, who is going to maintain it and repair anything that needs to be fixed?

“If they buy land, will they use our tax dollars? There will be no tax dollars left over once the Ma-te-Way payments start kicking in. This is far too expensive and large-scale for the town to take on.”

Ms. Cross said council is thinking way too big for a small town with limited resources.

“How can they build, maintain, supervise, and have a steady stream of ongoing funding so it doesn’t look abandoned after a few years. Didn’t Ma-te-Way teach them anything about taking on a big project far beyond its means?”

Lisa Smith, another Stevenson Crescent resident with property extending down to the river, did not mince words when asked about the proposed trail.

“Maybe the town should start maintaining and investing in the parks and trails we already have before taking on a few more millions of debt and building a trail in the middle of nowhere that will not be supervised or maintained,” she said. “Take a walk along any trail in town and you will see garbage, dog poop, empties and some broken fencing. Rude and ignorant people are to blame for our trails not looking great, but the town is left to clean up those messes, and they can barely keep up. Is adding on a new trail that will require ongoing maintenance and upkeep the best use of our tax dollars after the Ma-te-Way fiasco?”

Chantal Lavigne put forth some questions that up until now have been overlooked.

“Let’s say a hiker gets injured with a broken leg down there in the ravine. How is he treated and rescued?” she asked. “It is a dense ravine behind the houses and I have spoken with members of our fire department and they don’t have the equipment to get down there. Neither do the police. The paramedics have some rescue equipment for those situations, but it is limited.

“Speaking of police, how are they going to patrol the trails since they also have no way to drive down there,” she added. “Will it be our by-law officers down there and if so it will mean increasing the current schedule of 10 hours that were just set and reduced from the earlier number of hours for by-law services.

She said it seems the town is not thinking about all the basic things like liability, emergency services and access to the trail and most of all, the money involved.

“I am pretty sure Renfrew taxpayers will not want to fund anymore big ideas that come with a big price tag,” she said.

Information on the master plans, including timelines and scope of work, can be accessed on the Town’s website here. Additionally, the full draft master plans presented at the

Bruce McIntyre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eganville Leader