With the amalgamation adventure just barely underway, you can’t blame some residents of Dorchester village from getting nervous when they noticed a dumpster behind the Dorchester Veterans Community Centre chock-a-block full with furniture from the centre.
A picture of the overflowing dumpster garnered concerned comments on social media, so CHMA reached out to Tantramar recreation director Matt Pryde for an explanation.
Pryde says the furniture that was discarded in the dumpster is all being replaced. “There was a lot of old, broken chairs and tables there,” says Pryde. “And the ones that weren’t broken were heavy, and filthy, quite honestly. So we’re replacing a lot of the stuff with new tables and chairs that will be lighter and easier to use.”
The new equipment should be in place within a couple of weeks, says Pryde. The old equipment was thrown out instead of being repurposed, says Pryde, because it was not in a state fit for donation to another facility.
In addition to concerns sparked by images of the discarded furniture, there have also been worries over rumours that part of the Dorchester VCC might be used as a location for the Bob Edgett Memorial Boxing Club. A letter dated January 31 and signed “Residents, Organizations and Community members of Ward 1”, expresses the concern that giving up a portion of the building to a full-time tenant would limit space availability for community events.
In an email, Pryde acknowledged that the idea of using the Dorchester VCC as a temporary location for the boxing club “has been tossed around,” but also that “nothing has been brought to Council for consideration at this time.” Pryde added that the VCC “has never been discussed as a permanent location,” for the boxing club.
Pryde acknowledged the concerns of some community members about possible changes to the use of the building. “I do know there’s a lot of rumours out there about the use of that building,” says Pryde, “and I just want to assure everybody that we have no intentions of kicking anybody out. We do want that building to be used by the community in general.”
As an example of the municipality’s commitment to the community centre, Pryde points to a motion just approved by council that will see fees for non-profit groups waived at the centre, as long as they are providing free recreational programming or events. “So if anything, we want more people in there,” says Pryde.
Pryde says town staff will be discussing the vision for the building with user groups, and more information will be available soon.
