A new high school is being built in Moncton, and with the new construction comes debate about what to do with the old historic building.
City Councillor Shawn Crossman has some ideas on how the old Moncton High School can live on when it’s no longer used as a school.
“What I would like to see would be both of those items kept, the gym and the theatre,” says Crossman. “With the possible closing of the East end pool, look at some way to work a pool into that new lay out, in that new development for the old MHS.”
Jeffrey Reath was disappointed when he heard Crossman’s comments at the council meeting this week.
Reath is part of a group that has been lobbying the city for 9 years, asking for a new recreation centre in the Northwest.
“Now it’s our turn,” exclaims Reath. “There is 14,000 people that live in Moncton North and there is not a single piece of infrastructure that has been built there for recreational purposes.”
Reath understands that tax dollars are limited, and there are lots of ways to spend them.
“Moncton City Council of course is centered on the downtown events, for the most part,” he adds. “As a result, we end up dividing our efforts here.”
Reath says a recreation centre could save the city some money, with an estimated cost of about $14 million.
Meanwhile, Crossman says he’s not trying to compete with a new centre, just putting some ideas on the table.
“Personally I don’t want to take anything away from the Northend people,” says Crossman. “What they have put together and what they have proposed is fine. That is exactly what they should be doing. That is a community building and that is what they should be driving for.”
“This is just about trying to put something in place for 14,000 people living in the Nord end of Moncton,” says Reath. “We don’t have anything right now that we can walk to.”
Reath adds that he hopes his group’s ideas will be on the table next to the others, when council makes the hard decisions.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s David Bell
