• Mayor Iain Lovatt met with 55+ Club members during their Nov. 12 monthly meeting.
  • The discussion centred largely on his recently defeated proposal to assess interest in a public-private partnership that would redevelop the seniors’ centre property.
  • Lovatt emphasized the need to expand the 55+ Club while avoiding a significant budget impact should no private partner be involved.
  • Councillor Sue Sherban defended her opposition to the proposal, citing the need for greater public consultation before moving forward.
  • Both officials indicated they are open to formally revisiting the discussion in the new year.
  • The next town hall will take place Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers, 111 Sandiford Dr.
  • A second session will follow Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. at the Ballantrae Community Centre, 5592 Aurora Rd.

 

In a prelude to his fall town hall series, Mayor Iain Lovatt met with members of Stouffville’s 55+ Club during their Nov. 12 monthly meeting, offering updates on recent Council considerations and previewing the types of discussions that will continue in the public forums ahead.

“ This is something that I’ve committed myself to over this Council term: to make myself accessible and be in front of residents to answer anything that’s on your mind,” Lovatt said of the town halls. He described them as an opportunity to “take the pulse of the community,” adding that conversations at the meetings can shape budget priorities and future planning.

While Wednesday’s meeting participants raised concerns about traffic, transit, infrastructure, and growth, the discussion largely centred on Lovatt’s vision for a club that many members see as reaching capacity.

Stouffville Recreation Programmer Nora Jones told attendees that while the Town’s other facilities can help meet short-term demand, the 55+ Club is experiencing rapid growth. Membership has climbed past 2,000, with roughly 450 individuals visiting every week.

The Mayor’s visit followed a recent Council defeat that ended his push for a public-private partnership to redevelop the 55+ Club lands. The proposed Request for Interest (RFI) process sought potential proponents that could build a new seniors’ centre and affordable housing on the public property, all at no cost to taxpayers.

Avoiding public spending was a key reason behind Lovatt’s proposal. With his motion defeated, any expansion of the seniors’ facility would need to follow the Town’s capital planning process. That includes consideration through Stouffville’s 2027 Leisure and Community Services Master Plan update before it can be added to a future budget.

“It’s not wrong to explore opportunities and see if we can expand a service level at no cost to the taxpayer,” Lovatt said. “Council voted that motion down. I have the right to use my Strong Mayor Powers to overturn it, but I’m not going to do that.”

Lovatt also noted that a previous renovation to the 55+ Club replaced support posts with a large beam, creating a more open layout for additional programming but removing the structure’s ability to support additional floors.

Although the upcoming town halls do not formally include Councillors, as past meetings have, Ward 6 Councillor Sue Sherban attended this week. One of the four Council members who voted against Lovatt’s redevelopment motion, she used the occasion to further explain her reasoning.

“ I don’t want anybody to go away thinking that Council did not want to see redevelopment or expansion of the 55+ Club,” she said. “My concern is that it didn’t come to the public first.”

Sherban detailed her preference for a public open house where both seniors and nearby residents could discuss the proposal before any formal steps are taken: “Let’s open up some discussions… Do we want to do something with this property? Do we want it solely for public use, or do we want it as a [public-private] partnership?”

Such a session, she added, would not take a public-private partnership, condos, or affordable housing off the table. “ We have very limited property that the municipality owns that we can do anything on,” she said. “We need to think bigger and broader with this piece on Main Street, because this piece…is a gem.”

With a revised process catalyzed by public consultation and a more comprehensive consideration of the community’s needs, Sherban expressed an openness to formally reconsidering Lovatt’s proposal. “ If we choose to revisit this as an open discussion in the new year, I’m more than willing to bring that forward to Council,” she told the Mayor.

In response, Lovatt said the Town’s Official Plan, approved by Council after extensive public consultation, already permits the type of redevelopment he envisioned for the site. Those consultations and approvals also influenced the decision to not approach the public before tabling his RFI motion.

He also reemphasized his desire for creative solutions able to address facility needs without straining Stouffville’s budget. “Right now, there’s not $20 million in our budget to redevelop this [club],” Lovatt warned. “If we can get somebody to pay for it, I think we owe it the exercise of actually going through that [RFI] process.”

“ I appreciate Councillor Sherban’s disclosure as to why she said no to the motion, but there was nothing in the motion that we didn’t already approve,” he continued. “But if we want to have this discussion again, let’s do it, because I think it’s an important one to have.”

Lovatt has long maintained that the town halls provide a truly open forum to participants—one where any relevant local concern can be addressed provided the discussion is respectful. Facing exactly that on Wednesday, the Mayor acknowledged criticism over his willingness to consider using public land for private development and committed to addressing perceived gaps in communication with residents.

The next town hall takes place Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers, located at 111 Sandiford Dr. Another session will follow on Monday, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m. at the Ballantrae Community Centre, 5592 Aurora Rd., offering a daytime option for residents.

“We commit to responding to your questions,” Lovatt promised. “There may be a question you have that I don’t have the answer to, and we have some incredible and very well educated staff that work out of Town Hall. If there’s a question I cannot answer, please make sure that we get your name, because we will get you an answer.”