Council has received the start of a likely deluge of e-mails filled with misinformation about condition and shortage of soccer fields
and disappointment that Council may not approve an expenditure of $1.4 million dollar at Tuesday's council meeting.
The vote was tied. The Mayor was absent, Depending on community input the vote could change one way or another on Tuesday.
The new facility would be our third artificial turf surface the second in a year. A new one has just been completed at St Maximilian Kolbe high school.
Built on school property, at our expense, it adds significantly to the field inventory. Artificial turf means the play season is extended by months. It can be played in all weathers and accommodates more games in a day. Maintenance is substantially less . It costs a million dollars to build.
The first one was built at Sheppard's Bush. $400,000 was saved using the skills of parks department employees.
The soccer program is provided by Aurora Youth Soccer Club. Our correspondent informs us there are 4 thousand youth members with parent volunteers. .A tournament in July will not be hosted this year because of a shortage of soccer fields.
The club operates out of privately rented facilities, has a full staff complement and professional coaches .Teams participate in tournaments world wide. A glossy magazine is published annually.
It's not like any minor sports association I know.
My son coached soccer in Barrie for a while. He told me the kids played on sand.
My daughter coached baseball in Newmarket. They brought a team to play a game in Aurora . The baseball diamond was picture perfect. like manicured. They didn't get to play it because the Aurora team didn't show and the game was forfeited.
I know the town parks department take tremendous pride in what they do. Facilities provided are second to none.
A few years ago, a fence around soccer fields in the vicinity of schools was recommended to prevent abuse and misuse. Council shot them down.
After a downpour, soccer fields cannot be used without causing damage that takes weeks to repair.They are not allowed to be used in these circumstances.
I know that. Management of Aurora Youth Soccer Club know these things better than anyone else.
AYSC has the same right as anyone to input to Council to approve a new facility.
But to misinform parent volunteers to pressure politicians to approve a $1.4 million dollar expenditure on the basis of misinformation and in the face of serious concerns is not acceptable..
I have a sense Aurora Youth Soccer Club has serviced a far greater area than Aurora for many a long year..
Parents should perhaps turn their attention to continued growth of the Club that squeezes their children out more than a shortage of tax supported facilities.
And Oh Yes! We have that money pit bubble behind the Legion that provides year-round access to soccer facilities
Erected on Town land, over the term of the much touted public/private partnership agreement of twenty years , it will have cost the taxpayers of Aurora a million dollars
We pay taxes to the Region and the Board of Education on their behalf.. The use became commercial as soon as the bubble was erected. The agreement provided the operators would pay no taxes. So the town is stuck paying taxes not anticipated when the agreement was signed. It seemed somebody anticipated. else why the clause about non-payment.
Management of the Aurora Soccer Club Association are aware of these factors. They lobbied for that Soccer Bubble Agreement.
They apparently enjoy a substantial benefit from the deal.
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Evelyn,
ReplyDeleteI am from a soccer family and coached for many years with AYSC. We have watched the club grow and change over the years. We have seen expensive programs and fancy soccer schools and high profile coaches command most of the clubs budget for years. The previous board of directors and management staff promoted a Doors Open policy for the club to include anyone who wished to sign up to the club, not just Aurora residents. Almost a if you come, we will build it mentality, and developed a fine friendship with our past mayor. Field space became difficult to acheive with the growth of the competetive division of the club. We have 10 age divisons, both boys and girls that support 2 or even 3 representative teams that all need lit full size fields to play on. If you had to poll all the competetive teams, you would find over 30% of the players are non residents.
We field as many teams as towns and cities 5 times our size. So that is a club problem, and not a town issue at all. The current AYSC does NOT support the glossy magazine and the shinanigans that went along with it. It would be in councillors best interest to realize that the current folks running the AYSC are completely different from the past management. Thank God. If the club actually reigned in on its number of rep teams, we may see the need for fields dropping in the near future. Time for the club to look really hard in the mirror before running to the town for more fields.