Morinville youths will be able to skate at the town’s leisure centre then warm up by a driveway fire pit later this month following recent decisions at town council.
Morinville town council authorized town staff to reopen parts of the Morinville Leisure Centre Feb. 23 following changes to provincial pandemic health restrictions.
The decision came out of council’s regular COVID-19 update at the Feb. 9 council meeting.
The province loosened its rules on indoor activities Feb. 8 as part of its four-step Path Forward plan. Schools were allowed to do sports and performance activities off-site, and people could do one-on-one scheduled indoor training with certified and masked professional instructors. Youths 18 and under could also train indoors with a certified trainer in groups of 10 or less (trainers included; trainers may be over 18).
Town community services manager Sharleen Edwards proposed that the town do a partial reopening of the town’s leisure centre on Feb. 23 as a result. The facility would be open Tuesday to Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., with full or partial courts and ice surfaces available. Change rooms would be open, but not for showers. Spectators would not be allowed into the facility.
Certified trainers could book ice or court time for one-on-one training or groups of youths 18 or under (with groups capped at 10 people, trainers included), council heard. Guests could also book a one-on-one fitness consultation with a Town of Morinville trainer who would create an exercise program they could do at home. The leisure centre is also offering online classes.
Administration created this limited reopening based on talks with the community and provincial health rules, said Iain Bushell, the town’s general manager of infrastructure services. Council could instead keep the leisure centre closed if it wanted to save money.
Council voted to proceed with the reopening. Bookings begin Feb. 17.
Light the home fires
Bushell also told council administration has decided to follow St. Albert’s lead and let residents host driveway fire pits starting Feb. 13. The three-month pilot project is meant to help people connect with each other in a COVID-19-safe manner.
Under the pilot, Bushell said residents could host up to 10 physically distanced people at a time on their driveways around a fire pit on Saturdays between noon and midnight. They would not need a permit for their fire pit provided they used it as part of this pilot. (Propane pits do not need permits, but wood pits do when used outside of this pilot.) The town encouraged residents to use propane pits as they were easier to extinguish. Residents should follow all safety rules on fire pits set out by the fire department and keep noise levels below 50 dB between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m., as per the town’s community services bylaw.
Details on the driveway fire pit pilot can be found at morinville.ca/fire.
