Some Rothesay residents are none too pleased with council’s decision to award a 2.2-million-dollar tender to Bird Construction for upgrades to the Common which include a new ice rink, a playground and a new service building.
Jim Crosby tells us his problem with the project is that they don’t have the usage numbers – saying he drives by the area on a regular basis and there are very few people skating there. Margaret Leahey Bailey says, with this decision, council has approved the destruction of the historic Common in old Rothesay and calls it an outrage and an insult to citizens.
A report to Town Manager John Jarvie from the director of Parks and Recreation Charles Jensen says – when it comes to public feedback – approximately 80-percent of comments received on the project were positive. As as for the concerns, it says the project was modified in response where feasible.
The Common was acquired by the town in 1935 and the deed contained convenants, or formal agreements, for the property – however a private member’s bill was approved in the provincial legislature to overcome those so-called restrictive covenents.
