BY LAURIE WEIR

Crystal Palace roof-lift

The glass roof is coming off the Crystal Palace, as work to replace it has begun. The cost to replace the glass panels with metal is $488,000. Cathy McNally, director of community services, said she cautioned the Perth and District Chamber of Commerce to be aware that the work may bump up against the timing for the Festival of the Maples which takes place the last Saturday in April. As it stands now though, they look to have the roof finished by the end of March. 

Heritage Perth Architectural Conservation Awards

The following property owners will be recognized under the town’s Heritage Perth Architectural Conservation Award program for 2023: 

1. Jennifer and Matthew Newby, 15 Thom St.
2. Alex Goodfellow and Devon De Rose, 65 Drummond St. E. 

They will be invited to the Feb. 20 council meeting to receive their certificates. 

Coun. Isabel Anne McRae said she visited both properties. “They’ve totally embellished the fronts of both of these buildings in keeping with our mantra of heritage and certainly done with a lot of heart,” she said. “They’re very welcoming, (and) inviting and I look forward to this presentation.”

Community centre upgrades

Council directed McNally to apply for a Trillium grant to the upset limit of $200,000. If successful, the monies would be used to upgrade the second floor of the community centre. It’s currently storage space, but in the past had been used for office space for hockey and figure skating clubs. McNally said working with the architects they would come up with a plan to utilize the area – possibly giving some office space back to user groups, and creating a events space, or recreational programming. They may also be able to make it a “livable space” from which to view the ice surface. 

“If we’re going to be there for another 15-20 years, we might as well stop making that an unusable space, explore our options for making it up to code and a benefit to the community,” McNally said. 

Deputy Mayor Ed McPherson suggested that if they don’t get the grant, they’d like to see this come back to the table for future discussion. 

Perth Sports Hall of Fame 

Tim Zander is the chair of the Perth and District Spots Hall of Fame. He requested $300 per year for the term of council, to help support the cause. This year’s annual induction will take place on May 26. More information will come forward at a future COW meeting as Zander will be asked to speak about the HOF and the funding request.

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month

Pat Evans, advocate for Parkinson’s Community Network requested from council that a proclamation come forward to their March meeting that would declare April as Parkinson’s Awareness Month to help spread the word. April 11, join individuals and organizations in a commitment to “stand up to Parkinson’s disease” by collectively completing one million sit-to-stands in 24 hours, “ideally in a position that would attract attention,” Evans wrote. 

Resignation of John Clement

The town received, “with regret” the resignation of John Clement from the Climate Change Advisory Panel. Clement sent his letter on Jan. 24, but noted he’d still continue to be part of various projects and assist where possible. “Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this important panel.”

On the morning of Feb. 7, the town posted an advertisement for a new member. 

The Climate Change Advisory Panel is a committee of concerned residents and elected officials, working together to encourage all residents of Perth to make our town a greener place to live, work and play. 

“We are currently seeking a new member and invite you to apply to serve on the CCAP for the remainder of the term of council. To qualify, applicants must be a resident or property owner of Perth. We encourage those with diverse backgrounds to apply so that the community may benefit from a broad and diverse range of lived experiences and perspectives.

Visit Perth.ca/CcapApplication for more information and to apply. Applications must be submitted by 12 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23.

‘Boring’ drinking water report

CAO Michael Touw gave a shout out to Grant Mahan, director of environmental services, who was not in attendance for the water report review. 

“Drinking water is extremely important, especially in light of (Walkerton E. coli contamination in 2000), and it’s best when it’s boring, when we never hear about it, and when we turn on our taps and it works,” Touw said. “Our system here in Perth has consistently gotten very high marks and I want to commend Grant and the staff for all the work they do behind the scenes … that’s thanks to the few but dedicated staff we have.”

Darou Farm working group

A working group will be established for the development of not only a dog park at Darou Farm, but to take a look at what else can be done at the 50-acre property. Part of the mandate will be working with the dog park group on fundraising and creating the dog park. 

McNally said the off-leash dog park is still in the plans, and now there will be a working group to help establish other uses for the rest of the property.