The Ward 1 councillor, who represents the Kelly Lake Road to Whitefish area, presented his colleagues with a petition Thursday night from about 200 older Sudburians who want the city to focus on keeping them healthy and fit.
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Rick Pusiak |
Retired individuals are looking to the municipality for assistance to offset costs to keep them well, said McIntaggart.
Interestingly enough the petition didn?t call for more hospital beds or medication. The submission focused on the sport of curling.
?We have many seniors out there who are curling on a regular basis, two or three times a week,? said the councillor.
?They view it, as an aging population, that they don?t have the facilities available to them that are offered to other sports, like ball fields, ice hockey etc.?
McIntaggart suggested that as the budget process gets underway all sports money should be put in one big pot.
The councillor proposed a review of all sports-related activities the city supports and those that the municipality doesn?t give money to with an eye on refocusing its efforts to determine what Sudbury should be funding.
?With changing demographics seniors should become more important in the issues of the day,? said McIntaggart.
?A healthy senior saves the community a lot of money on the cost to health care and hospitals, emergency wards.?
After McIntaggart made his presentation fellow Ward 1 Councillor Eldon Gainer asked staff to make sure increased funding for seniors sports is one of the options local politicians will be voting on at budget time and that financial implications be prepared.
Ward 5 Councillor Doug Craig, who represents the South End, backed the proposal for more attention to senior?s needs.
?Any Wednesday morning I can take you to a curling club where there are two or three hundred (seniors),? said Craig.
?On Tuesday mornings I can take you to another area where there?s whole end curling (with) seniors.?
Many matters were quickly dealt with at council Thursday night with little or no discussion.
One matter that was speedily passed was the purchase and installation of protective netting at the Sudbury Arena.
The almost $51,000 bill would be funded from the 2003 Citizen and Leisure Serves capital envelope.
Back in September the Ontario Hockey League took the position that all arena facilities in which OHL teams play must have appropriate protective netting in place by the end of 2002.
The city will use NHL technical guidelines for the installation of netting at the Elgin Street rink, National Hockey League approved black nylon net, 2.1-millimetres twine, fire-retardant with roped edges that is fully retractable.
Installation is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Councillors also agreed to start the process that will turn Big Nickel Mine Road into Big Nickel Road. The thoroughfare links Lorne Street to Highway 144. The request came from Science North which is constructing the Dynamic Earth tourist attraction at the site of the former Big Nickel Mine.
The name change would reflect the history of the tourist attraction which will know be known as Dynamic Earth.
A big order for new boots for firefighters is also going in. Some $169,000 will be pulled out of reserves to purchase 450 pair from M & L Supply of Newington in Southern Ontario.
The request came after workers said the current gear ? old style rubber foot wear ? wasn?t appropriate for some of the tasks they were sent out to handle. Current footwear is strictly for structural fire fighting and not for tasks like forest fires.
New lace-up footgear resemble combat infantry boots, are waterproof, lighter, more heat resistant, provide extra ankle support and some protection from hazardous materials.
