As Councillor of Ward 5, I am as disappointed as the residents with the delay in reopening of the Cornell Community Centre Fitness Centre and the opening of the new large Community Park.
COVID delays aside, there have been a number of challenges which have caused the extra delay. Staffing challenges at the Fitness Centre was unforeseen, after a number of recruitment and advertising campaigns, hiring qualified staff has been very difficult. Senior staff are making some changes to existing staffing and the Cornell Fitness Centre is expected to open on Tuesday September 6th, still a few weeks away however a date we can look forward to.
As for the Community Park which in the Ward 5 spring newsletter cited an end of July to mid August opening date, I did hear from staff that today’s hopeful partial opening Friday Aug 19th will not happen as inspections this week revealed a few deficiencies. I trust staff will provide a date early next week so that we can at least get the kids into the water park and playground before school starts. The remaining sod laying, the washroom opening and some other minor items will be finished as quickly as possible. I will post again early next week with more details.
I thank you for your patience and regret these delays as much as you do. Once the Fitness Centre and Park are open, there will be countless days of great recreation and opportunities to enjoy more amazing Markham facilities.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support,
Andrew Keyes
Ward 5 Councillor