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Pembroke – It’s no secret that community projects today require partnerships to be successful and last Wednesday, the fruits of such a partnership were celebrated at an unveiling ceremony at Riverside Park.
Members of the Kiwanis Club welcomed representatives from the City of Pembroke to their luncheon meeting to celebrate the unveiling of the new elevator that was installed at the city-owned Kiwanis Fieldhouse in a joint project between the club and the city.
Kiwanis president Jeff Buske welcomed guests that included Mayor Ron Gervais, CAO David Unrau, Colleen Sauriol, Director of Planning, Building and By-law, Angela Lochtie, Treasurer, and Paul McLean, Chief Building Official. Also in attendance were Matt and Brian Walsh of Walsh Bros. Construction of Pembroke which was contracted to do the work.
Past president and past Lieutenant Governor, Mac Plaunt, like his fellow Kiwanians, was excited to see the project come to fruition.
“It gives me great pleasure as chairman of the committee for the fieldhouse renovation and the lift, along with Lorraine Bertrand, Kiwanian, and Kiwanian Karen Stewart, to have the opportunity to work with this team,” he stated. “It comes to fruition with a new lift at the Pembroke Kiwanis Fieldhouse.
“We have worked amiably and favourably forward from day one, each one of the partners pulling their weight, doing their job, and being part of this lift.”
Mr. Plaunt credited the late Joyce Moore-Cowan, past president who passed away December 30 for her involvement and said the project started when he and Mrs. Moore-Cowan met with one of the new councillors and Mayor Gervais to inquire about the city’s position to look at the feasibility of an elevator/lift for the Kiwanis Fieldhouse. A committee was formed, and approval was given by the club to support the project.
“At this time, we were introduced to Paul McLean, who headed the project and worked with the Kiwanis Club through to completion,” he said.
Mr. Plaunt thanked Mr. McLean for his vision, dedication and support of the project as he welcomed him to the podium.
Mr. McLean said he was asked to take the project on in September 2024, adding it was very much a collaborative effort between the city and the club. He recalled how he first met the group in the meeting room at the fieldhouse to discuss the best way forward for the lift.
“Our first attempt was to put a lift off the balcony,” he shared. “But after a little while and speaking with the engineer, and going through some of the original drawings, we discovered that there was actually an intention to put a lift in this building all along.
“So, the footings in the basement were pre-existing, but nobody knew they were there because the drawings were in the basement of city hall,” he continued. “Once we put that together, we came up with a new plan and brought it to the board of Kiwanis and we were actually going to try to do what was originally intended, and that’s what we’ve done here.”
Mr. McLean said it had been a pleasure to be involved in the partnership between.
“I learned a long time ago that if you’re going to do anything important, you’ve got to gather the best qualified people together and then get everything else out of the way and let them do their work. So that is basically what I have done here.”
He thanked the Walsh brothers for a fantastic job, Ian Johnson of Jp2g Consultants, Barron Door, city staff, and council.
“It’s been going on for really long time, so I’m very, very happy that we are here. Mac has used the lift, so we know that it works.
“And I hope that the partnership and the teamwork that we’ve all displayed here can continue for many, many years between the city and the Kiwanis,” he concluded.
Kiwanis Contributes $50,000 To Project
Mr. Plaunt said perhaps the most important aspect of the completion of the project is it makes the fieldhouse accessible to everyone. He added the location may possibly be the location of the SLP program that is being discussed.
“This makes it accessible and able to use this facility.”
He said he did not recall Mayor Gervais or Mr. Unrau ever talking about the finances required.
“They just smiled and were amiable and pleasant and things moved on,” he recalled.
He said the club promised a contribution of $50,000 and called on Mayor Gervais and Mr. Unrau to accept the cheque from Mr. Buske.
“So, on completion, I think when a team decides to do a project and do it amiably, with a similar vision, the outcome is what we have today,” Mr. Plaunt remarked. “And I think that is what the city and Kiwanis wanted, and the outcome is here, and we are very pleased.”
Late President Had First Ride
Lorraine Bertrand, manager of rentals at the fieldhouse, added thanks to all involved with bringing the project to completion.
“It was wonderful to see the lift already in operation; we were so pleased,” she said, adding some rentals were lost because the facility was not accessible.
“Older individuals could not go up the stairs, so I had to say, ‘I’m sorry, we cannot accommodate you,” she added. “Now we can!”
She noted the late Joyce Moore-Cowan, who was honoured with a moment of silence to start the meeting, had been mentioned on a few occasions during the meeting.
“And on December 18, Joyce attended her last Kiwanis meeting,” she said
Before the meeting, she was speaking to Ms. Moore-Cowan on the phone and she asked if the lift was operational, adding she was using a walker then and was unable to use the stairs.
“She said she was so excited. She got to go up and back down on the lift and it just made my heart sing because I knew she didn’t have long and 12 days later she was gone. So, it was a joy to see the smile on her face.”
Kiwanian Jay McLaren said the club was able to raise the funds through the generous support of the community and friends of the club.
“This is not just a Kiwanis project,” he stated. “We could not begin to do this alone.
“We have a long list of community volunteers, Kiwanis Friends we call them, and it’s a result of many different supporting groups and organizations that we have achieved this goal,” he continued. Mr. McLean said the total cost of the project was approximately $180,000. Mayor Gervais said he was delighted to see the partnership with the club enhance accessibility to another city-owned facility.
