There are two sides to every story, and what McNab-Braeside appears to want is a two-way agreement on shared amenities with its neighbour Arnprior.
While we’ve heard that capital investment is needed for an aging Nick Smith Centre, the upstart Township has gone off and built two facilities- the JAG and the “My-CC” for want of better names, where recreational activities can be held internally… and now has to pay for them.
This is new since 2015 when the original Joint-Use Pact with Arnprior for amenities at the Town’s Nick Smith Centre came into being, and makes the NSC less a draw for Township residents.
Still relevant for McNab-Braeside citizens are the pool and the ice surfaces at the Nick Smith Centre; but then Arnprior residents play organized ball and soccer on their neighbour’s turf, and don’t pay a cent for that.
So can something better be worked out to keep everyone happy?
There’s the example of the two-way street connecting Pembroke and Laurentian Valley. City residents get to use LV’s Shady Nook Centre, and Laurentian Valley residents get wet in the Pembroke Pool.
It’s a deal that sees more cash go to Pembroke coffers, but it’s based on known usage numbers, something that appears to be confounding the Arnprior abacus.
McNab-Braeside sought an early exit from its Joint-Use NSC agreement with Arnprior, effective June 30th, then, according to Town sentiment, wanted back in because they realized what a good deal they would be throwing away.
If cooler heads don’t prevail, the Township would compensate its residents who get stung with higher usage charges paying the non-resident fee at the NSC- if only Arnprior would tell them who, and how many.
Arnprior has offered a meeting between the partners for May 31st to calculate population ratios under the about-to-lapse pact, but McNab-Braeside Mayor Mark MacKenzie is (in effect) saying, “What’s the rush; those numbers also apply to shared Library services.”
By Rick Stow
