Two dozen greeters welcome more than 1000 people to the Alton community complex on a cold Saturday morning.

November 25, 2013

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON.  This Saturday the place was wide open.  The complex of buildings in the Alton community: a high school, recreation centre and library that are stitched together into one long structure, held their public opening and even though we saw the first bit of snow in the afternoon the crowds were more than decent in size and the kids were all over the place – along with their parents, some of whom looked lost at times.

Two dozen people donned custom T-shorts to greet the more than 1000 people who walked into the complex on opening day for the community.

The politicians were out in full force. Chris Haber, the man who paid big bucks to have his name put on the building had settled into a table and looked like he was going to set up shop.

New signage makes the complex official.

Kids of all ages were in the gyms, the library was filled with people and there were a couple of dozen people on hand to show you around and ask questions.

These three were prepared to give volley ball lessons to anyone who walked into their gym.

Three young girls wanted to teach me how to play volley ball – they were pretty good players themselves – it was that kind of day – everyone just had the run of the place.

Snappy signage was in place – we were told that some of it got the finishing touches at 3:00 am in the morning – but there were in place with flags snapping away in the brisk breeze.

People were setting in nicely and in time the complex could and should become more of a community centre.  It badly needs a coffee shop and having a small Post Office in the building would be a real convenience for the community.

The complex is the responsibility of the three organizations: Board of Education, Library Board and the city’s parks and recreation department – which means there has to be an oversight committee in there somewhere.

Alton has a very rich diversity that results in a cultural mix some schools don’t have.

It would be interesting to see how much that group is prepared to stretch the envelope and make the location a place where all kinds of services are available.  Could some of the Regional Services be available in the complex.  The police currently have a presence in the building and there are a few commercial services in the building.

There are computers sprinkled throughout the library with units equipped for young users.

One would expect the ward Councillor to begin holding community meetings in the space.  Could the theatre be made available to drama groups that need a place to practice and perform?  Great place for a film club!  The objective should be to use the complex as a safe place for students to grow and play as well as a place for their parents to be at in the evenings.

On Saturday a coffee shop would have been a welcome addition.