2 Friday, February 21, 2020brooklintowncrier.com The proposed Whitby budget increase of 1.99% seems, on the surface at least, a reasonable amount. As Regional Councillor Rhonda Mulcahy pointed out in our last issue, it'll mean a monthly increase of about $15 for most homeowners. Given that our Town services are actually quite good and spending is effectively managed, I can squawk about other things. Like this one: The vision for the North Whitby Sports Complex (let's call it NWSC for now) suffers from myopia. The current plan envisions a twin pad rink complex and the closure of Vipond whose plant is near-death. In other words, a net gain of one pad. This for a community that will explode in population in the next ten years. More homes - more people - more kids - more registrants for hockey, ringette and other ice sports. There's another key argument for even a minimal refurbish of Vipond and replacement of its plant. Hockey Canada instituted its cross ice program in 2018 for all children 8 and under. The Vipond surface is in fact perfect for the younger kids requiring little more than bumper pads to separate sections of the ice. The ancient rooms are too tiny for anyone other than the wee ones. Might as well transform the building into one designed for the under 10s. (Full disclosure: I'm a Hockey Canada coaching program instructor and evaluator) This would allow the NWSC complex to make proper use of its twin pads and allow for more ice for other sports. Consider this as well: How long do you think our jr A team, the Fury, will last at Iroquois with attendance in the low dozens? What if the franchise wanted to moved up the road to the NWSC? Similarly the Dunlops, who barely practice once or twice a month. Mind you, a large part of that is because of ice cost. The other part? Ice availability. Given the growth, will the figure skating club require more ice as well? Currently the Durham speed skating club is housed at the Tribute Centre. Do you think they'd rather be at Iroquois or the new NWSC? Not sure? Have you walked around the Tribute Centre lately? We have one high school with two hockey teams, boys and girls. Someday soon, there will be another high school up here because there needs to be another one. Where will those teams play? Hockey is an integral part of Whitby and particularly Brooklin. If you look at team rosters, you'd see that the majority of kids are from Brooklin. That will increase some-fold with northern development. How much it would cost to do cosmetic surgery at Vipond and replace its plant is the question. A buddy happens to be in the sports complex/recreation field. He figures it'd be well under $1 million. How does that translate to taxpayers? How about we ask the parents of kids in ice sports if they'd pay a few bucks more in taxes to cover it? I'll pony up first. Fix Vipond Less than half the picture: By Richard Bercuson "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 and published 24 times per year. Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 • editorofbtc@gmail.com The Brooklin Town Crier is locally owned and operated and is a publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: 905.655.7642 Email: brooklintowncrier@gmail.com Next Issue: Friday, March 6, 2020 Deadline: Friday, February 28, 2020 Letter to the Editor Brooklin Elementary Student Speaks Out Subject: Doug Ford's Mistake Message: Dear Editor, Hello, my name is Ben. I am 9 years old and I live in Brooklin, Ontario. Doug Ford wants to cut school budgets and teachers are on strike because it isn't good for students. There are no extra-curricular activities because of the strike. That means kids like me can't play sports, go on field trips or stay in for recess to do homework. We aren't learning as much at school because of the strike. I am in 4th grade and this year I am finally old enough to try out for my school basketball team, but I can't. I don't understand why Doug Ford went to Washington last weekend, and why he was talking about how great Donald Trump is. Why isn't he talking to the teachers to end the strike? Ben (Editor's note: According to Ben's Mom, she helped with a read-through and grammar/spelling edit. It's otherwise entirely his.) The Region's Works Department is inviting residents to learn about six potential site locations for the new Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and Waste Pre-Sorting facility in Durham Region. When: Thursday, February 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. Where: Durham Regional Headquarters, 605 Rossland Road East, Whitby - Room LL-C (located on the lower level). Why: Durham Region's population is growing and is expected to be over 1 million in the next decade. More residents means more garbage to manage. The current composting facility for organics and the Durham York Energy Centre (DYEC) for garbage are at capacity. This new facility will help meet the increasing waste management demands and will reduce the quantity of garbage that the Durham York Energy Centre needs to process. At the open house, representatives from the project team will provide information and answer questions. If you are unable to attend, all information, including the six potential locations, will be available online at durham.ca/ADproject while questions can be submitted to ADproject@durham.ca. AD is a method of processing organic materials such as food scraps to create energy. Organic material is processed in closed, air-tight containers without oxygen while bacteria break down the organic material, creating biogas, compost liquid wastes and solid residue. The Waste Pre-Sort facility sorts out recyclables from multi-residential garbage as well as organics that the Green Bin did not capture. The organics would then be sent to the AD facility for processing into energy and natural fertilizer products. Learn more about AD and pre-sorting at durham.ca/ADproject, call 1-800-667- 5671, or email ADproject@durham.ca. Learn About Sites For Anaerobic Digestion And Waste Pre-Sort Facility Town of Whitby Special Meeting of Council 2020 Budget February 24, 5:30 p.m. Town Hall Council Chambers 575 Rossland Road East, Whitby