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Closure considered for Steelton Seniors Centre, Korah and Churchill branch libraries

A proposed shuffling of municipal facilities would move seniors programming to space at the Northern Community Centre currently occupied by the Korah branch library.
20160208 City Council Chambers KA
Information about the proposed facilities shuffle has been placed on the agenda as an information item at Monday's City Council meeting. File photo by Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday.

The Steelton Seniors Centre could be closed and sold or leased for other purposes under a shuffling of municipal facilities being considered by City of Sault Ste. Marie administrative staff.

A briefing report sent to City Council by Virginia McLeod, the city's manager of recreation and culture, says the 110-year-old building at 235 Wellington will need $1.5 million in repairs over the next 20 years.

McLeod's report outlines a proposed alternative scenario in which the Steelton programming would be offered four kilometres away at the Northern Community Centre at 556 Goulais Avenue.

Under this scenario, the Steelton activities would be accommodated in Northern Community Centre space currently occupied by the popular Korah branch library.

Both Korah and Churchill branch libraries would close, with library services offered at just two locations: the downtown Centennial Library and a new Northern branch at the former Alexander Henry High School.

Steelton Seniors Centre was built in 1906 with a two-storey addition added in 1968.

"The total square footage of the multi-level facility is 8,413 square feet," McLeod says in her report to Mayor Christian Provenzano and City Council.

"Programming is spread out over four levels and the upper levels are not fully accessible. Many of the seniors have trouble with the stairs. Those participants who use mobility aids or wheelchairs are not able to access programs located on upper levels."

At the Northern Community Centre, the seniors programming would be offered in 6,444 square feet of space.

But all of the space there is fully accessible, with significantly more parking and accessible parking spaces than at Wellington Street.

The move to Goulais Avenue would save about $30,000 a year in utilities and building maintenance, plus $1.5 million in future capital expenses.

Some of the capital savings should be reallocated to interior enhancements and additional parking spaces at the Northern Community Centre, McLeod recommends.

"It is important to note that the majority of programming would not conflict with peak facility use," McLeod says.

"The seniors centre traditionally operates from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Soccer and hockey would be starting as senior programs are wrapping up."

McLeod notes that the Steelton Seniors Centre is just 1.4 kilometres from the Seniors Drop-In Centre on Bay Street.

"A move to the West End would expand the area being serviced," she says in her report.

"Based on the 2011 census profile, there are 9.850 individuals 55 years of age and older within a three-kilometre radius of the Seniors Drop-In Centre and 5,710 individuals within a three-kilometre radius of the Northern Community Centre."

On Goulais Avenue, seniors would also have access to the 40,000-square-foot turf area and the ice surface at the W.J. McMeeken Centre.

The Sault Ste. Marie Public Library Board decided at a meeting on Monday to decline a city request to comment on the Steelton closure, arguing that it's not within its authority or jurisdiction to make recommendations on what another city department should be doing.

At a special meeting on September 29, the library reaffirmed its previous position favouring closure of the Churchill Plaza branch library and opening a new Northern branch and accessible archives at the former Alexander Henry site on Northern Avenue.

Information about the proposed facilities shuffle has been placed on the agenda as an information item at Monday's City Council meeting.

Also on the agenda is an updated report from the library board about the pros and cons of maintaining the Korah and Churchill branch libraries as well as other possibilities for service delivery.

The library board is responsible for determining an appropriate level of library service in the community, but all real estate transactions, including leases, must be approved by City Council.

Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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