Hockey and ringette players, as well as skaters, will get their usual ice this fall, while a Barrie vaccination clinic stays put and open, council decided Monday night.
City staff have been instructed to ensure the same amount of ice time is available for user groups in October 2021 as in previous years.
“I hope our staff are able to work some magic and if they aren’t, and a few games have to be played outside (of Barrie) or practices have to occur in Innisfil, instead of Barrie, then that’s the tail end of COVID and it’s unfortunate,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. "But as long as the ice time is there, we don’t have to limit anybody’s registration and the number of kids who get to play.”
“What we’ve established here tonight is that we really want to do two things,” Coun. Jim Harris said. “One, make sure we support our vaccination effort, which is obviously mission critical… and we also want to encourage recreational activities.
“We want people to enjoy getting back to the things that they love. We all want our lives back, we all want those things back that have been taken away from us or put on pause during the pandemic,” he added. “This assures them (ie. user groups) what they need, which is hours of ice-time certainty and allows the flexibility for staff to creatively figure it out.”
Council had been considering a direct motion to relocate the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic and supply depot from ice pads at East Bayfield and Holly community centres by Sept. 20 to other spaces at these facilities that suit the needs of the health unit, in order to ensure and maintain the mental health and well-being of Barrie’s winter sporting communities.
Three members of Barrie Minor Hockey Association (BMHA) argued for the relocation.
“Enough is enough,” said Greg Hotham, a Barrie Colts 'AAA' coach. “This is 18 months and we need to start looking ahead. We need to plan now for next year (season). This goes beyond the game of hockey. It’s a mental health issue.”
Steve Fontaine said if there is not enough ice time because the pads have other uses, that could mean a 15 to 20 per cent loss in registration, affecting between 250 and 300 kids.
The BMHA has close to 2,000 players aged below five years old to about 18. Registration is set to begin in early August.
Rob Bell, Barrie’s director of recreation and culture services, said it could be a challenge to find all groups the same hours of ice this fall, but it is possible.
“There is other ice time available in other municipalities that they could make up that ice time if that is available,” he said. “Not knowing what is available out there, but that is something that’s possible.”
“I believe staff will be very creative with the direction of this motion and I think that if there’s any challenges I think we’ll hear about it at the Aug. 9 meeting, where we might need to pivot,” said Coun. Robert Thomson. “It’s a balance between promoting mental health for our youth and the vaccines.”
Coun. Gary Harvey noted that while the city has heard from the BMHA, it has not from women’s hockey or ringette about their needs.
“I hope the impacts will be minor and equalized,” he said.
Lehman said all involved will still need to be flexible, because of the pandemic.
“If we’re still in COVID in October, if we still need mass-(vaccination) clinics in October, I think return to play might be otherwise affected by the broader provincial regulations,” he said. “They need the certainty, the BMHA, and I understand that… they need the certainty now and we don’t want to limit their registrations because we might need a facility in October.
“So rather than us directing what the solution is, let’s leave it to the people who work with Barrie minor hockey every single week throughout the year, constantly, to solve these issues,” Lehman said of city staff.
One of the two ice pads at Holly Community Centre is serving as Barrie and area’s largest accessible immunization clinic site. In addition to the one ice pad, change/skate change rooms and a pre-school room are also being used for vaccine preparation, first aid and staff break rooms.
The clinic is operating seven days per week and currently serving approximately 1,200 to 1,400 people per day. Its side entrance and the hallway area adjacent to the rink has been dedicated to the immunization clinic to ensure that any other users of the facility, once open to the public, are not interacting with immunization clients.
One ice pad is still available for use at Holly.
One of the two ice pads at East Bayfield Community Centre is being used for secured storage space for a supplies depot required to operate the clinics throughout all of Simcoe-Muskoka. Staff are also providing assistance to the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit for receiving supplies. This location is a one-level space that allows for loading in and out, and provides a large space to organize the equipment needed for the region.
One ice pad is still available for use at East Bayfield.
Service Barrie is assisting with overflow for callers needing help to book their vaccination appointments via the online system. And 29 Sperling Dr., the former city police headquarters, continues to be used by Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) as an immunization clinic as well as a testing centre, seven days a week.
Ice is usually available by Sept. 1 for some but not all of the city’s ice pads. Typically, the city provides seven of the eight ice surfaces for use by community organizations by the first week of September.
Eastview Arena’s ice is usually installed for October, but that could be moved up.
The plan so far this year is to provide six of the eight ice pads to be available for September and October, due to the needs for a healthy community and assisting the health unit, said Dawn McAlpine, the city’s general manager of community and corporate services.
The original request for this vaccination clinic space was until Aug. 30, but the health unit has asked that it be extended until Oct. 31, and city staff agreed.
