Many hall boards opt to keep facilities closed

Many of the volunteer-run community centres are opting to remain closed for the time being, with the exception of a few specific rentals.
Since the province moved into Stage 3 of its re-opening plan, gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed indoors. Clearview Township staff have been positioning to support volunteer hall boards if they wish to open their facilities, but ultimately the decision is left to them.
There are a lot of rules and regulations to follow in Stage 3, General Manager of Parks, Culture and Recreation Terry Vachon told members of the Sunnidale Corners hall board at their July 30 meeting.
“It’s not a carte blanche to open up your halls and have at ‘er,” said Vachon. “There are a lot of rules and a lot of safety measures that have to be put in place so some of the halls have actually decided that they won’t open.”
Hall boards have been meeting to discuss their options. The consensus is that it’s too complicated to open the community centres for general rentals because of uncertainty around washroom, kitchen access, and sanitization in the age of COVID-19.
To date, board members at The Station on the Green in Creemore, and halls at Sunnidale Corners, Avening and Duntroon have all opted to remain closed at this time.
Sunnidale Corners and Station on the Green are in talks with the church groups that have regular weekly rentals and are open to making their facilities available to them. Duntroon Hall is also opting to open for one specific renter.
Brentwood, Dunedin, and Creemore Log Cabin, have yet to meet to discuss their options, while Nottawa was set to discuss their plans on August 13.
In the meantime, Clearview staff has developed a tool kit for when halls are prepared to open. It will include a logbook to track visitors, touchless dispenser for soap or hand sanitizer, posters and floor stickers, PPE, and other information.
The kits were assembled with a $20,000 grant from the United Way to support the safe re-opening of recreation facilities, including the Clearview Youth Centre and integrating new safety requirements into recreation programming.
Funding for the Creemore Community Centre and the Stayner Community Centre will come from the 2020 operating budget.