Glenlee spared Kelvin’s fate

Centre allowed to stay open during Norberry construction

John King, vice-president of the Concerned Elmwood Neighbours, says he feels like a second class-citizen after watching a St. Vital community centre remain open while his local community centre gets shut down.

The issue arose after Steve Bemrose, president of the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres, confirmed that St. Vital’s Glenlee Community Centre building will remain open while construction prepares the Norberry facility it has amalgamated with.

King said he’s upset because all Kelvin Community Centre supporters asked for was the same concession – to keep their building open while construction occurs at their amalgamation centre.

That motion was denied in council by a 9-6 vote.

“This seems like we are definitely considered second-class citizens,” King wrote to The Herald in an e-mail, adding that he thinks Coun. Gord Steeves’ St. Vital ward is getting better treatment than Coun. Lillian Thomas’ Elmwood ward.

“How can one area (Steeves) be given a fairer shake than an impoverished area (Thomas) with different and greater needs that have even been mentioned in the media (gangs, car theft, drugs). That's criminal,” he wrote.

Kevin Leclair, facility manager at Glenlee, was surprised Kelvin wasn’t given the same treatment as his club.

“Unless they have very little programs or something I can’t see them kicking programs out,” he said.

But Bemrose said the two facilities cannot be compared.

“They’re not anywhere near close to the same situation for operation,” he said.

“First of all, Glenlee has been operating and programming all along and had a board in place where in the Kelvin situation there was no board and very little programming going on.”

On Jan. 31, Kelvin began its newest program – chess night, the ninth program now running at the club.

What’s more, Kelvin didn’t have a board because the City took away their right to have one, but Bemrose said the facility was given from Apr. 10 until July 20, 2006, to get one in place and they failed to do so.

“I know that there are a group of people dedicated to the cause but they came on-board too late,” Bemrose said.

However, area residents didn’t find out about the closure of Kelvin until just before the July 19 meeting of Mayor Sam Katz’s powerful executive policy committee.

The Concerned Elmwood Neighbours, which began running Kelvin in August, point out that under their control the facility now runs programs with waiting lists, held a barbecue that saw 500 people, a family skate night that drew 200 and received support from Olympian Clara Hughes.

But Bemrose is skeptical.

“They resurrected themselves as a group of volunteers that are coming forward but they don’t have anything else at the table,” he said.

“We’ve had it in the past there a number of times where a group of volunteers come forward, try to save Kelvin, and three to four months later they’re gone – they disappeared” and the City needs to maintain the club, Bemrose said.

“History does repeat itself,” he said.

But Regan Wolfrom, president of the Concerned Elmwood Neighbours, notes that Kelvin critics are now focusing on programming and not the usual front of volunteers, a testament that the City is noticing changes, he said.

So, Wolfrom said, Kelvin will now make officials acknowledge its programs too.

“We’ll just keep correcting them,” he said.