Riverside Arena lot a concern for Ward 6 residents

The candidates of Ward 6 discussed why they should be elected as city councillor five days before the municipal election.

Alex Denonville, John S. Holmes, Jason Dupuis and Jo-Anne Gignac showed up Oct. 22 to participate in the all candidates meeting held at Average Joe’s Sports Bar. The candidates were given five minutes to discuss their political platforms and then answered submitted questions by the audience. About 60 Windsor residents attended the meeting to hear what the candidates had to say.

The candidates also took part in a lightning round where they answered questions by holding up signs that indicated green for yes, red for no and a fence for on the fence.

The main issue of the evening was what should be done with the mass of land where Riverside Arena once stood. Nothing was done with the land after the arena was demolished. The vacant lot is currently being used as a school bus parking lot.

Denonville said the land is a great area and wants to see some sort of community consultation process to discuss what the best use for the land will be.

“I would not like to see the Riverside Arena land closed or sold off for development,” said Denonville. “There are enough vacant lots in the area that we don’t need to be selling our current public space to make room for more development.”

Incumbent Jo-Anne Gignac said the city had significant consultations with the residents in Riverside regarding the arena land. One of the main concerns with the lot is whether or not Centennial Pool will be closed and if Riverside Minor Baseball will be moved if they do something with the lot.

“There are no plans to close Centennial pool or to move Riverside Minor Baseball,” said Gignac. “It’s a nice urban legend but it’s not true.”

Holmes would like to see the area kept as a park for the residents to enjoy. He said the arena was built in 1957 for $150,000 and it was the pride of the community. The residents of Riverside raised $90,000 to build the arena. Holmes also said the arena has a significant history and we need to have respect for such buildings.

“They had Paul Martin out to turn the sod for it. I don’t think you can forget history,” said Holmes. “I’m not saying it should have been used as an arena but it should have been kept for something. You can’t tear things down, you can’t take them away, you can’t get them back once they’re gone.”

After the meeting, residents were encouraged to speak with the candidates personally about issues that concern them. Residents heading to the voting polls to cast their ballots can do so Oct. 27.