Discussions

showing on their Facebook page.  
https://www.facebook.com/Park-Community-Centre-222268594975337/  
 
But Brandon Sun article shows there is no date, just potential plans.  
https://www.brandonsun.com/local/Fundraiser-coming-for-community-centre-566532631.html?utm_content=buffer34cea&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR24BiDH-GGTRhJSER9rSIWpgBNfhG0PramlgsmhclraXnfVmE5Q18_fn6w  
 
It easy to sign on online petition when you don't have to do anything else. It's easier to say we pay taxes so we shouldn't have to fundraiser because the city should be paying. Saw someone post on a Brandon Sun post that why don't the 2500 that signed the petition to keep it open chip in $50? That right there would be $125,000. And a reply was that they shouldn't have to when they pay taxes.  
 
The community members around these community centres should be taking a more active role in them. And that should include fundraising.  
 
I think community centres should be able to look after themselves more instead of relying solely on the taxpayers and the occasional social. Have community fundraising events, bring back the dances, and the other nostalgic events people are posting about. Though the small size of Park Community Centre does hinder attracting events. Why put on a show in this small centre when you can go to a much larger one and get far more people. Community centre's, Halls and rinks in other small communities have to fend for themselves and don't have a city of 50,000 to support them with tax dollars.

That was me that said donate 50 from each person signing. Online petitions are useless in my opinion. Anyone in the world can sign them. Put a post on FB asking for signatures and everyone with nothing better to do will sign it. Now if you put a hard copy on the door for people to sign I bet it wouldn't hit 100 people. Back in September they lowered the volume to 40 people due to bad floor conditions. Where was everyone then stepping up for a fundraiser to fix the building? When word is to close it down then all of a sudden people come out of the woodwork tooting their two cents.  
Like it was mentioned in the Brandon Sun the building gets used a couple hours a day and maybe on the weekend. Before cell phones and electronics these places had a purpose. Everyone talks about the old days of bands, dances, community events. Now people don't have or want to put in the time to make things work. Other centres offer Bingo, child care, Karate, dances, etc. The parking sucks at this place, there are three other centres within 15 minutes of walking. If people want these facilities they need to keep them bringing people in and paying to use. Even if they don't fully cover all costs and subsidized by the city they need to show the usage is there to warrant keeping it open.

Westridge is ALWAYS busy with wedding receptions and events...rental fees certainly help keep this centre self sustainable.  
 
East End had its volunteers APPLY for grants for upkeep and additional services. They have a solid volunteer base that keeps the centre alive.  
 
North End has events that keep it sustainable.  
 
Park Community Centre, however, has nothing going for it. Taxpayers shouldnt be on the hook if 1000 people, mostly from out of town, who signed a petition, want to keep it open. Have those 1000 people fundraise or apply for a grant. The other centres did....Park can, too.

The likely reason why Park doesn't get many events is due to it's size and lack parking.  
 
It's put together from 3 different buildings that weren't originally meant to be a community centre. From the history I read, those 3 parts were basically sheds.  
 
The report only shows the deficiencies they could see, who knows how many other serious issues the building has. And once it's opened up and issues are found, they need to be brought up to code.  
 
I realize it has tons of history and memories, maybe it's just time to let it go?  
 
And yes the rest of us taxpayers also have a say.

Green spaces could be better for that area vs. A community centre building. Less maintenance, and could be better suited for the specific area.  
 
Compared to the other community centers, Park Community Centre has everything good going against it, for example, there's already rec facilities at BU, a playground, pool, and courts at Stanley, which is too close by. Park CC would be better suited as a community garden (similar to Princess or Elenor Kidd) and possibly dog park (neither are close by). It would be a cost savings for all, and would qualify for annual grants, and would best serve that specific area (historic, older homes and seniors living)

what happens to Park community centre or any other one.  
But people are missing the point. Who opened the centres? The city? Then maintenance of these buildings is the city's financial responsibility is it not? The city has to pay for upkeep on all their other buildings that they occupy.  
Volunteers are not to blame for the disrepair that Park CC is in, if the place just needed a paint job maybe but there are structural deficiencies and that is the city's job to maintain.  
The city pays millions of dollars to the Keystone every year and a lot of that cash goes for non essentials, remember that year we thought all that taxpayer money was going for roof repairs? The Keystone could do more with their glut of land they have but are going to turn the grounds into a great big park! A park that brings no cash for their coffers, hmmm.

You say the city built them, so they should maintain them? Well, the city has done their research, and has determined it's not feasible to maintain or repair this specific centre. They are suggesting cutting the expense by tearing down and making green space. It's a cost saving measure.  
 
Why should the city keep open a hall that only a dozen or so people use, at the recommendation of a petition that has signatures from a huge chunk of non-residents from places like Calgary, Winnipeg, and even Brandon Florida!?!?!? The city is going in the RIGHT direction with the teardown. If these thousand or so people (mostly from out of brandon) want this centre, they should have to pay for it.  
 
Many of these community centers, even in other cities, have become volunteer based, and have backed away from 100% civic funding. Community members have realized the local governments are cutting non essentials like community centres, so the community groups,have stepped up to save them (East End is a great example).  
 
A simple solution for Park CC...How about the guy who started the petition step up, get 5 or 6 other residents to meet up and fill out grant funding requests? Takes less time than fighting city hall.

so the city did nothing to maintain the integrity of Park CC building then?  
 
Who grants funding for such projects? City hall? The Province? Or Feds? So taxpayer money still although for the province and Feds a bigger base of taxpayers.  
 
Are you saying that Brandon is trying to get out of supporting CC in any way?  
 
If people want to fundraise the money needed for repair then I wish them luck.

I totally concur with the folks in here who have advocated for the local community to pitch in. Signing a petition is pretty easy, especially when there’s nothing else required.  
That being said, the folks at Park CC now have a database of supporters who they should look to for contributions and support.  
Community centres can be an important part of the fabric of our city, but the locals need to lead the way, imho.  
Btw, happy New Years!!

look at community centres (halls and rinks) in small communities and they rely on the help of the residents of the community. They don't have a taxpayer base of 50,000 or the city to look after the facility. While the RM may chip in some, but the rest is up to the board that runs the facility. They hold their own fundraising events that help along with other bookings. Residents in small communities look after their community facilities because they are the usually the only place they have for holding events.  
 
I grew up in Douglas, so the hall and rink was a big deal.

To answer your first question, no, the city did next to nothing to maintain the integrity of ANY community centre except for bare bones minimum. The boards or volunteers of Valleyview, East End, Westridge, Green Acres, and North Hill did most of the work maintaining, fundraising, applying for Grants, etc, etc.  
 
As for your comments about Grants being government money...Co-OP contributed HEAVILY to the time of tens of thousands of dollars to the major improvement of the East End CC park and rink. Not all grants are government funded. It can be achieved from corporate sponsors like CO OP or Maple Leaf or MTS or like companies....can come from community groups like Rotary or Lions or Kinsmen (they funded most of our playgrounds), or can even come from crowns like Hydro or MPI or PMH.  
 
In this day in age, we cant rely on the city to maintain or renovate buildings or parks that are barely used. That money is better put to use at Sportsplex or Keystone, that attract hundreds if not thousands of visitors a week and actually contribute directly to our economy. With Park CC, there's no contribution value at all to the local economy, just costs.  
 
Isn't it ironic....No o:bjection to South End closing. No publicity on Central CC closing....yet those were busier community centers.

did Central Community Centre close? Never heard or saw anything about it closing. Heard about South End closing.

It hasn't closed yet, but I think it's slated to be closed in the next few years as part of the master plan.  
 
But it might as well be closed. It's notoriously hard to book for anything from what I hear.

Asking for everyone to sign the petition was very easy (online and share) but asking for donations is another thing …. No offense but why are we saving the park community centre? It is hardly used and always look empty plus the parking is terrible