Beaconsfield residents lobby mayor for answers on reimagined project

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At Beaconsfield’s first council meeting since last month’s municipal elections, Mayor Georges Bourelle faced questions about costs associated with the city’s proposed Reimagined Space project at the site of the former Lord Reading Yacht Club and Centennial Park.

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The ambitious project, which has yet to be voted on by the council, would transform the entire waterfront space with a multi-use complex that would include a new public library and cultural center.

Beaconsfield resident Nathalie Durocher asked the mayor if there would be a referendum on the project. “If there is a referendum for the wall of sound, shouldn’t there be one for the Reimagined Space project that you are so supportive of?”

Bourelle said he did not understand the premise of the question because “we are not even close to this project at the moment. I don’t know where the perceived support is. “

Durocher also questioned the idea of ​​building a new library as part of the Reimagined project.

“Why put a library in this beautiful park? Who came up with this idea? All residents should be consulted, not just a small group of 150 residents. That’s .75 Beaconsfield, less than one percent. What will be done with the old library and what is wrong with the library right now? “

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Bourelle said the project, which has yet to be calculated, would require the city to obtain grants from the federal and provincial governments, as well as a city loan statute and private donations.

“This project, of course, being conditional on grants, is one of the most important things. But the registration process will also apply to this project if there is a loan statute. “

“If we don’t get the subsidies, we have to get back to where we started,” Bourelle later told the Montreal Gazette.

Bourelle also noted that all Beaconsfield residents were invited to a series of public consultations that took place in 2019.

“Probably about 150 residents participated. That is very high because most of the time, when we have a consultation meeting or an information meeting, we do not have such a high participation ”.

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He said the consultation was for a multipurpose center, including a library, and “that need was clearly identified through the consultations.”

Bourelle also addressed a question about the contentious file of the wall of sound that has been dragging on for years.

“We are going to move forward as quickly as we can with the plan that we first have a public information meeting in Beaconsfield by the MTQ to answer a lot of the questions … so everyone is well informed,” he said.

“That will be step 1, then we will move very fast, as fast as MTQ is ready to move. And I don’t need to tell you that MTQ doesn’t move as fast as we would all like to see. “

Another citizen asked the mayor if Beaconsfield would consider building a refrigerated outdoor skating rink, like the one in Pointe-Claire Village. Another larger refrigerated track is also being installed at Valois Park in Pointe-Claire.

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Bourelle rejected the idea, saying that Beaconsfield does not have the means to carry out such a project.

“The budget resources at Pointe-Claire are not comparable to Beaconsfield,” he said.

However, the city has entertained the idea of ​​a refrigerated track in the past. There were discussions about building a second track behind Beaconsfield Arena more than a decade ago.

Bourelle also expressed “disappointment” at the low voter turnout in last month’s municipal elections. He noted the low turnout of eligible voters.

“Only 37 percent of eligible voters in Beaconsfield voted, which means that about two-thirds of eligible voters did not vote, even though we had two days of early voting, two days of voting at town hall, and voting by. mail. for (citizens) over 70 and, of course, the voting date of November 7.

“What I can say is that if we want a healthy democracy, we must achieve a much higher level of participation in the future.”

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