A consensus emerges

Bill Hurst’s rendering of the proposed new gazebo in Wellington.

Gazebo to be rebuilt in Wellington

Heavy winds ripped through Wellington in January, knocking down trees and branches—taking with it the village’s gazebo in the park. For months afterward it seemed the structure might be gone for good.

The municipality looked to the community to sort through the choices the demolished gazebo presented. It had a $25,000 insurance deductible on the structure, but would be hard-pressed to find any more money for its replacement.

Sorting through the choices wasn’t easy. Some thought the gazebo should be more of a stage for community events. Others thought it should be moved away from the road noise. Some simply wanted to replace the broken gazebo. Most agreed the structure should feature greater flexibility for a variety of purposes including arts, entertainment and presentations

So a committee was struck to work through the competing ideas. The Rec Committee’s Bob Stock, Wellington District Business Association head Tina Konecny and Councillor Jim Dunlop formed the committee among others with advice from County parks manager Andrew Morton. They held two public meetings. After the first it seemed a consensus might be impossible to find.

Yet when they emerged from the second meeting all participants were confident they had reached a compromise that all could live with. There were smiles all around.

The proposed design consists of a low “grade level” concrete base offering easy access, an eight-sided gazebo— open but for three walls, with a metal roof and a decorative cupola. The three walls provide a backdrop for sound to reflect forward and keep it from flowing toward the homes on East Street. Other locations were considered within the park, but in the end the committee decided it was best to maintain, more or less, the same footprint as the previous structure.

The price has not yet been determined.

The best bit of news, however, came from the Lions’ Club.

The Wellington District Lions’ Club is turning 40 years old next year. They have been active in this community providing guidedog training awareness and training, dragon boat events and participation as well as contributing to many other community events.

But to honour this seminal anniversary the Lions had been on the lookout for a project in Wellington—for this community.

“We attended both meetings of the gazebo restoration project and we agreed this would be a good project to get involved with,” explained Art Hewer, first vice-president of the Lions’ Club. Hewer will be chair for the anniversary year. “We have agreed to be the fundraising coordinators for the gazebo project.

“We will be taking a load off the shoulders of the committee. The County is putting in some funds but some fundraising will be needed to complete the project as planned.”

Bob Stock says that a request for proposals to construct the new gazebo will be issued soon. He expects the new gazebo to be up and ready in time for Pumpkinfest in October.

“This has been an interesting example of how the County and the community can get things done,” said Stock. “We had our issues but we were able to come together and develop a pretty good plan.”