Grotto proposal to be resurrected before Council next meeting

Possibly the hottest issue to emerge from City Council over the past few years will be re-opened in two weeks. Council is expected to decide on February 21 if a grotto dedicated to St. Mary will be built on Bellevue Park’s Prince Island.

Possibly the hottest issue to emerge from City Council over the past few years will be re-opened in two weeks.

Council is expected to decide on February 21 if a grotto dedicated to St. Mary will be built on Bellevue Park’s Prince Island.

Ward 4 Councillor Rick Niro presented a related motion and it was unanimously decided that discussions will take place at that next scheduled council meeting on that date.

“It’s up to Council to decide if we really want to wait two years to deal with this or do we want to deal with it sooner rather than later,” Niro said last night.

If council waits two years for a parks review to be completed, he said, it would result in the issue being tabled for over three years from when it was initially raised.

He added that talks between himself and Ward 2 Councillor Terry Sheehan prompted his resolution.

There was no pressure from those involved with the grotto.

Retired lawyer Frank Sarlo first brought the grotto concept to Council on September 13, 2010, on behalf of a group of local residents who raised $200,000 for the potential project.

Included in the grotto would be a statue of the Virgin Mary, other statues, dedication plaques and seating.

It could also include stained glass windows from Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the 100-year-old Roman Catholic Church that closed last October.

The grotto would be enclosed by a wrought-iron fence and a gate that could be locked when the venue is closed.

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Earlier SooToday.com coverage of this story

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