The Couchiching Golf and Country Club wants the city to ante up $12,000 so local residents can once again enjoy slipping and sliding down the Peter Street facility’s popular toboggan hill.
Ed Novosky, president of the club’s board of directors, has penned a letter to city council asking the municipality to consider, during upcoming budget deliberations, providing a $12,000 annual contribution to the club for use of its ‘iconic’ toboggan hill.
“Generations of Orillia residents have enjoyed the winter activities, and indeed many who have relocated elsewhere have come back year after year for an annual outing,” wrote Novosky.
“Although the club has made this facility available at no charge over the years, continued financial pressures ensuring the club's viability increase annually and have reached the point where financial support from the City of OriIlia is being requested,” he said.
Novosky said the shareholders of the club view the toboggan hill as a city park for four to six months of the year.
He also points out the city’s parks and recreation brochure states the city has three toboggan hills - one of which is at the Couchiching Golf Club.
As a result, the board is asking "the City of Orillia provide the Couchiching Golf and Country Club with an annual payment of $12,000 per annum for as long as the toboggan hill remains available for use by the citizens of Orillia."
Novosky said the money would “assist in covering many of the other costs such as property taxes, Orillia Power bills, city water charges and other items that remain constant during the months when they are completely shut down and the property is dormant relative to our normal activities.”
While no decision will be made until budget deliberations, several councillors seemed sympathetic to the request.
Coun. Rob Kloostra asked if it was possible city residents could be denied access if they rejected the request.
“That’s possible,” said CAO Gayle Jackson. “They may decide they no longer wish to have the city utilize that space, but I don’t know that definitively.”
Currently, the city does cover the cost of insurance related to residents using the hill in the winter, said Jackson.
“I’d like to find a way, when it comes to budget, to support this,” said Coun. Ralph Cipolla. “A lot of children use that toboggan hill ... we need to do something to help them.”
Coun. Pat Hehn agreed, noting people use not only the hill for tobogganing but the entire property for cross-country skiing.
“As a community, we really do use the whole golf course,” said Hehn, who has fond memories of skiing at the facility when she was a teen. “We probably need to find some way to help with payment toward upkeep of the golf course.”
