A committee has been formed to keep the Pool of Dreams fund money in North Hastings.
About thirty people showed up at the meeting in Millenium Park last night, organized by Wilma Brethour, who runs the Facebook page Concerned Citizens of Bancroft & Dungannon.
Brethour told the gathering she’s been told by her former contact that was on the North Hastings Recreation Centre Fundraising Committee that the money raised was substantially more than $200,000.
Brethour says she understands it’s been proposed that the money is transferred to Cardiff Township in Highlands East to be used for their community pool. Brethour says she has been told it would be geothermal heating and for a blanket to cover the pool.
Brethour mentioned multiple times during the meeting that without political will and the will of the people this money will leave North Hastings. Brethour said she’s unsure where the money is. She didn’t want to speculate.
Brethour added that she sent out emails to Councillors throughout North Hastings. None responded or attended the meeting.
Marsha Depotier was a vocal attendee of the meeting. She brought up how the fund was created when she was young. The purpose of it was to benefit the children in the area. She mentioned how much she had in North Hastings when she was a kid, but her 16-year-old son doesn’t have the same luxuries.
At the end of the meeting, Brethour passed around a sign-up sheet to start a committee that would work to keep the money raised in North Hastings. 12 of the 33 people that attended the meeting signed up. Depotier signed up to be the chair of the committee. Depotier said that anyone interested in working with the committee can send her an email at [email protected]
This morning Bancroft Councillor Tracy McGibbon posted a statement from the current North Hastings Recreation Centre Fundraising Committee to her Facebook page.
In the statement, it shows the pool committee has gone through at least three iterations. A business plan was crafted in 2004. The committee presented the plan to eight different municipal councils to see if there was interest in building an indoor pool for the northern areas. One council approved the plan in principle but did not commit any funds to make it happen.
The statement continues to say that an agreement was struck in 2009 with the Municipality of Hastings Highlands to hold the funds in trust with the condition that the money only be used for a pool and associated recreation purposes.
The statement says there is $192,000 in the fund and the money is secure.
The money has been invested in a Guaranteed Investment Certificate and has been reinvested as they matured.
The statement goes on to say, “An opportunity has presented itself and the group now has been presented with an agreement which is in-line with the original intent of the fundraising groups. We recognize that the mandate of the fundraising initiative was for access to a pool facility for residents and we remain committed to this. We feel the option that has been presented to us will achieve this objective but we remain open to reviewing other business plans that would also fulfill the mandate.”
But the statement suggests the group is open to any business plan submitted from any of the northern municipalities. Plans will only be accepted by mail and must be received by September 13th, 2018.
They should be sent to NHRCFC, General Delivery, Bancroft, Ontario, K0L 1C0.
(With reporting and files by Mathew Reisler)