Some clay has been removed, but the line drawn in the sand remains.

Friends of Bonnerworth Park, a citizen group fighting the $4.4 million redevelopment of the greenspace off Monaghan Road at McDonnel Street, has served the City of Peterborough with notice of an application for an injunction to stop work in the park, with a court date to hear the application set for Monday, November 25th.

Served to the city early Wednesday morning (November 6), the notice follows the start of preparatory work the previous day that saw workers remove clay from one of two ball diamonds in the park and erect fencing.

That activity saw some upset residents confront the workers, all while being monitored closely by city police and private security guards.

On Thursday morning (November 7), the city announced that the park, in accordance with the city’s parks and facilities bylaw, is closed to any public access during the duration of project that, as approved by city council, will see 14 pickleball courts, an expanded skate park, and bike pump track developed.

That action has brought forth a frustrated response from city councillor Alex Bierk, in whose ward Bonnerworth Park is located. In a tweet he posted Thursday, he lamented that he found out about the park’s closure via a media release from the city — despite his being the co-chair of the city’s arenas, parks and recreation portfolio.

That grievance aside, Bierk called the move to close the park “vindictive.”

“I go by the park almost every day and it’s very much being used,” he told kawarthaNOW.

“It’s frustrating to me to think that there weren’t other options considered, such as closing off areas in a strategic way as the various stages of development happen. It seems like a vindictive response to just say we’re closing the park down. It feels like a vindictive response because of people objecting to the project.”

Referencing the confrontation between residents and workers on Tuesday, Bierk said “I understand there are issues when things happen the way that they did.”

“But I think the response (closure of the park) is an overstep.”

Adding he was “completely caught off guard” by the decision to close the park, Bierk said he’s being asked by park neighbourhood residents what the reasoning is.

“The truth is I don’t know,” he said, noting that is adding to his frustration.

“I’m hoping to get answers from (city) staff as to what the closure looks like. I don’t want to see construction fences go around the entire park unless that’s absolutely necessary. Obviously there has been meetings and communication with senior administration about this tactic. I’ve emailed staff to get answers and I’m prepared to bring the issue up at our next council meeting (on November 12) if I don’t get a response.”

As for the notice of an application for a stop-work injunction, neither Bierk nor his ward colleague councillor Joy Lachica will comment, citing that the matter is now before the court.

On Thursday, kawarthaNOW received confirmation from the city that it had been served. The emailed statement from the city reads as follows:

“The City of Peterborough confirms that it has been served a notice of an application for an injunction related to the Bonnerworth Park project. The project includes an expanded skateboard park, a new bike pump track, and creating pickleball courts. The City intends to respond to the application in court. The City will have no further comment since the matter is before the Superior Court.”

On Wednesday morning, in an interview with Oldies 96.7 FM, Friends of Bonnerworth Park spokesperson John Gerelus provided clarity on what the injunction is seeking.

“The injunction is asking for a number of things, but the two big ones are to squash the bylaw (concerning the park’s redevelopment) and to have a stay for development until the case can be heard.”

Gerelus confirmed “there has been some delays in getting the injunction filed.”

“Last week, when our lawyer filed electronically, we were given a receipt that our application was received. The lawyer received a receipt for payment and then also received a date, November 25th, for a court date. What was missing was the court filing number which was required in order to serve the actual paper to the city. That was delayed because the court clerk was on vacation and didn’t have any back-up.”

Gerelus also noted the city is under no obligation to halt construction at the park before the court date. According to a recent comment on the Save Bonnerworth Park Facebook group, construction crews have said they are set to resume work on Monday (November 12).

“What we’ve been told by our lawyer is a common practice, at the municipal level, is once they are served, they stop (until the case is heard). That’s a common practice but they’re not obligated to do that. They could continue to tear up the park until it’s heard.”

As he has been since day of the group’s fight to see Bonnerworth Park left as is, Gerelus is heartened by the response, not just from residents living in the immediate vicinity of the park but from those who reside through the city.

A petition opposing the park’s redevelopment has garnered more than 8,100 signatures to date, while a GoFundMe appeal for donations to cover legal costs associated with the injunction filing and the subsequent hearing has brought in just more $41,000.

“It’s people saying ‘We’ve got to fight this … we have to find a way to save this park’,” Gerelus said. “We set the (GoFundMe) target early to gauge interest and we raised $15,000 in two days. We then set our target at $30,000 and we reached that within another few days. The target is set now for $50,000.”

“People want to put their money where their mouth is. They want to fight this. There’s a lot of people upset with the way city council and city staff have conducted themselves. And people see better ways to spend $4.4 million.”

Gerelus says the noise impact of the pickleball complex on the park’s neighbours remains a major grievance but there are others.

“The impact to the regular park user, to youth baseball by ripping out the ball diamonds, by ripping up that greenspace, is too great,” he says.

“Noise mitigation doesn’t work. Residents won’t be able to open their windows in summertime. They won’t be able to sit outside during the summer. These are seniors who have contributed to Peterborough throughout their lives. Are these people less valuable than anybody else?”

Gerelus also raised questions about why the city is moving so quickly to redevelop the park, especially given the ongoing opposition.

“People’s main question is why? Why at Bonnerworth? And secondly, why so quickly? If the City of Peterborough wants to be the pickleball capital of Ontario, then do it right. Find land. Partner with Fleming. Partner with Trent. It all leads to the conspiracy theories and backdoor deals that people are surmising because it just doesn’t make sense. There’s got to be something else going on. That’s what we’ve been trying to get to the bottom of. Legal action is now the only way that we have to go towards.”

While Gerelus and the many opposed to Bonnerworth Park’s redevelopment can’t predict the outcome of the injunction hearing, he does predict the experience will be front-of-mind for many voters come the 2026 municipal election.

“Do you want to kill your political career because of this?,” he asked, referring to the mayor and those city councillors supporting the project. “It looks like they are willing to do that.”

For its part, the city has maintained that suitable public consultation regarding the redevelopment plan was held, and that residents’ concerns were heard and considered.

Back in August, a revised site plan, which took into account the results of various studies including one examining noise impacts, was considered, the result being a reduction in the number of parking spots planned and the number of pickleball courts, from the original 16 to 14.

A Peterborough artist is $500,000 richer after winning a Maxmillions prize in the October 15 Lotto Max draw.

Lisa Martini-Dunk, a scratchboard artist and printmaker who is the owner of L’immaginaria and also an instructor at the Art School of Peterborough, says she has been playing both Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49 for the past few years.

When the self-described dog mom received an email from OLG notifying her that she was a winner, she logged into her OLG.ca account and at first thought she had won $500.

“Then I noticed the additional zeros,” said Martini-Dunk while visiting the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to claim her winnings.

“I felt like I was dreaming and got up to get my glasses so I could see better. Even then, I didn’t believe it. I asked my family to review the email and my OLG.ca account. Once we were all convinced the win was real, we were so excited.”

“This win feels like freedom,” she added. “It feels like a gift and a blessing. My heart is full of gratitude.”

Martini-Dunk says she will use part of her winnings to pay off her mortgage.

“I’ll put the rest aside as I figure out my next steps,” she said. “I may travel and complete some home renovations.”

Martini-Dunk bought her winning ticket online at OLG.ca.

Arts organizations in Peterborough are among those expressing dismay at the City of Peterborough’s draft 2025 budget which, to keep the 2025 property tax rate increase to 7.8 per cent, is recommending — among other things — a 25 per cent across-the-board cut of city funding to community organizations and the elimination of $150,000 in funding to the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area.

The 393-page draft budget, which was presented to city council on Monday (November 4) and released to the public, also lists a wide range of “discretionary” service eliminations or reductions that would be required to limit the property tax rate increase to five per cent as requested by council — including eliminating city funding for the Art Gallery of Peterborough and the Trinity Drop-In Program for people experiencing homelessness.

Back in June, city staff made presentations to city council’s general committee on a preliminary estimate for the 2025 budget that included a property tax hike of 8.42 per cent. Council directed staff to develop the budget using a five per cent rate hike and, after reducing operating budget requests by over $1 million and capital requests by $51 million, staff were only able to reduce the rate increase by 0.62 per cent instead the 3.42 per cent reduction requested by council.

The proposed 7.8 per cent rate hike would add $145.56 to each $100,000 of residential property assessment, so an increase of $378.46 for a residential property assessed at $260,000.

“Any further decrease will result in significant service level reductions,” reads the 2025 draft budget document.

While it includes an increase in funding for some municipal services, such as police, fire services, paramedics, and the library, the draft budget proposes a 25 per cent cut to the city’s community projects grants and community investment grants program, including existing service grants to Hutchison House and Kawartha Food Share.

PDF: Proposed funding cuts to community organizations in the 2025 draft budget
Proposed funding cuts to community organizations from the City of Peterborough 2025 draft budget

It also proposes a 25 per cent across-the-board cut of city funding for the following organizations: Artspace, Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Peterborough AIDS Resource Network, Community Care Peterborough, Peterborough Musicfest, Peterborough Folk Festival, Native Learning Program, Community Race Relations Committee, Council for Person with Disabilities, Showplace Performance Centre, Peterborough Lions Club, Peterborough GreenUP, New Canadians Centre, Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, and Peterborough Drug Strategy.

Sustainable Peterborough’s entire $39,738 budget would also be eliminated, as the organization — currently under the auspices of Peterborough & The Kawarthas Economic Development (PKED) — is dissolving at the end of this year along with PKED, with the city using the $1 million in funding it previously provided to PKED to support the city’s own economic development and tourism activities.

In an emailed statement, Artspace director Leslie Menagh says the proposed 25 per cent cut to the Peterborough’s artist-run centre will “set us miles back in our work to see the city legitimize the work of artists and the arts in general.”

“I and my colleagues are taken aback, and gutted at the thought of this coming to fruition,” Menagh writes. “The overall budget deals a devastating blow to the arts community and sets an alarming precedent.”

Menagh adds that she will be attending the general committee city council meeting on Tuesday (November 12), when councillors will hear registered public delegations on the draft budget, and is encouraging artists, arts workers, and arts supporters to contact city councillors and city staff and attend the public meeting about the draft budget from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday (November 7) at the Healthy Planet Arena.

Another organization that would be dramatically affected by the 2025 draft budget is the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA). Primarily funded by a $351,500 levy collected from DBIA members, the DBIA also receives $150,000 in annual funding from the city as well as services including street cleaning and event support such as park rentals, road closures, and paid-duty policing.

The city’s $150,000 in annual funding to the DBIA was the result of a 2017 settlement between the DBIA and the city, after the DBIA agreed to drop its appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board of the city’s decision to allow a casino at 1400 Crawford Drive instead of in the downtown core. Under the settlement, the city agreed to pay the DBIA $150,000 annually for 20 years — funding that the DBIA has been using for events, promotion, and security.

However, the 2025 draft budget has eliminated the $150,000 payment to the DBIA, at least for 2025. The budget document refers to an upcoming report from the city solicitor (Report LSOCS24-008 Review of OMB Appeal re OPA 173 and Zoning By-law 16-053, dated November 18, 2024) where “staff recommend redirecting the $150,000 annual payment back to the city to reduce the 2025 net tax levy requirement.”

Along with funding reductions to community organizations and the DBIA, the draft budget also includes a long list of “discretionary budget areas and service level reductions” for city council to consider if it wishes to reduce the property tax rate increase from 7.8 to five per cent.

The most significant budgetary items on the list include saving $880,000 by reducing preventative maintenance of city facilities, saving $886,237 by entirely eliminating the community services grant programs (which would affect 75 organizations), saving $771,000 by eliminating city funding for the Art Gallery of Peterborough (which would see six staff lose their jobs and the possible closure of the city-owned building), saving $400,000 by eliminating sidewalk snow-clearing (requiring residents to clear their own sidewalks of snow), and saving $390,000 by eliminating city funding for the Trinity Drop-in Program for unsheltered people (operated by One City Peterborough).

PDF: Discretionary cuts in the 2025 draft budget
Discretionary cuts in the 2025 draft budget

Other potential service eliminations or reductions include closing city-operated daycares (saving $125,000), eliminating two positions at the Peterborough Public Library and paying other positions less (saving $120,000), no longer operating the Centennial fountain in Little Lake (saving $111,800), and no longer maintaining the Trent Canal for public winter skating (saving $100,000). Other items on the list include reducing staffing hours for lifeguards at Rogers Cove and no longer funding fireworks or the Canada Day parade (each saving $40,000) and eliminating the recreation subsidy program for low-income people (saving $37,500).

On the other side of the ledger, the draft 2025 budget would see the operating budget of the Peterborough Police Service increase by three per cent to $36.1 million, although the Police Services Board has requested an 8.8 per cent increase to $44 million — which would require an additional 0.95 per cent to the property tax rate increase.

The draft 2025 budget would also see a 4.6 per cent increase for fire services, a 4.7 per cent increase for the paramedic service, and a 10.9 per cent increase for the Peterborough Public Library, which includes the costs of operating the new branch in Miskin Law Community Complex at Morrow Park.

In addition to Thursday evening’s public meeting about the 2025 draft budget in the Banquet Hall at the Healthy Planet Arena, which will include a brief presentation followed by an opportunity for residents to speak with city staff, the city is hosting a drop-in session from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the main foyer at city hall on Tuesday (November 12), prior to the general committee meeting where city council will hear public delegations on the budget. The drop-in session will not include a presentation on the budget, but members of the public will be able to speak with city staff.

Prior to the general committee meeting on Tuesday evening where registered public delegations will be heard, city council will hear presentations on the budget from invited local boards and agencies beginning at 3 p.m. After those meetings, general committee will review, discuss, and debate the draft 2025 budget from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 18 and 19. No public delegations will be allowed at these meetings. The mayor will present the draft budget to city council on December 9, when registered delegations will have another opportunity to present to council.

Last year, one lucky winner received more than $14,000 for generously supporting turtle welfare in Peterborough and across Ontario. This year, the winner of the 50/50 cash raffle held by the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC) could walk away with even more.

Despite only launching on October 25, the third annual fundraiser has already surpassed $20,000, with 19 days still left to go as of the date of this story. Half of the final pot will go to the registered charity’s outreach and educational programming, with the other half making one supporter thousands of dollars richer.

“It’s an exciting way to host a fundraiser and raise money while also giving the community a bit of fun and the chance to win something,” says Katy O’Day, the OTCC’s general manager of non-veterinary programming.

Tickets for the 50/50 draw are available until Monday, November 25, with the draw happening the following day at 11 a.m. On sale now at www.rafflebox.ca/raffle/otcc-nov2024, raffle tickets are priced at $10 for one ticket, $20 for three, $50 for 12, or $100 for 40.

Home of the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre, the OTCC is a Peterborough-based registered charity that protects and conserves Ontario’s native turtle species and their habitats through several capacities, not limited to treating, rehabilitating, and releasing injured turtles, conducting extensive field research, and running an education and outreach program.

“People might think summer is peak season for us, but the peak season doesn’t end and care doesn’t end,” O’Day notes. “Some turtles have injuries that are a bit too severe, and it might take a couple of years of physiotherapy for them to get their mobility back and then be released. Usually recovery goes on for months, and depending on the case, it can go on even longer.”

The 50/50 raffle happens as the OTCC nears the end of one of its busiest years. On top of a major move to an all-new purpose-built facility in October, the organization surpassed last year’s totals with more than 2,300 turtle intakes so far and over 4,000 released throughout 2024.

There’s no way to know for certain if such high rates are a result of a greater need for turtle care, or if it means OTCC has been successful in educating the public about of their services and the need to protect Ontario’s eight native turtle species — all of which are designated as at risk, either provincially or federally.

The funds raised from the 50/50 draw will go towards supporting the OTCC’s education and outreach programming to ensure even more community members become aware of the need for conservation efforts.

“We like to go out to schools, community groups, and different events around Ontario to educate the public and educate youth on the importance of turtles and wetlands, and how we want to work towards their sustainability,” O’Day explains.

While adult turtles — which have few natural predators and enjoy a long lifespan in the wild — have high survival rates, less than one in 100 laid eggs will hatch and grow into adult turtles. Nests are easily found and destroyed by predators, while those that do hatch are vulnerable, resulting in very few turtles reaching maturity.

Habitat destruction also create survival issues for turtles, as wetlands have been drained, filled, or altered by new roads and buildings, while other threats include vehicle strikes, boating mortality, fishing bycatch, and illegal catching.

“We try to educate on these threats the turtles are facing, the issues at play, what can be done if you find a turtle, and how the hospital operates,” O’Day says. “But we usually come back to the underlying reason why these animals are important to the wetland ecosystems and the threats they face.”

When going into schools and to organizations, the OTCC can customize programming to fit the needs of their audience, whether it entails a small chat, a larger workshop, or a virtual presentation.

“For classrooms, we can tailor to the age groups or even what they’re learning through their curriculum,” O’Day says. “If they want to learn more about the conservation aspect or if they want to learn more about the medicine aspect, we can do that.”

“We’re always trying to reach out to different groups that maybe haven’t experienced the turtles before, and we’re trying to hit new audiences that might not have species at risk conservation at the top of their mind, but also would be genuinely interested,” O’Day adds.

With its recent move to the 100-acre donated plot at 2785 Television Road in Peterborough that will support its expansion and growth, the OTCC will now have a designated educational centre.

Though not currently open as the OTCC had focused on outreach during the move, when the facility is open in the near future, it will offer more space for people to come in and learn about turtles in the ecosystem and their care in the hospital.

“We’ll be able to hold more groups, bring more kids into the classroom, and be able to offer more interactive, educational components, with learn-on-your-own tools,” O’Day says. “There’s so many animals and we want to be able to grow too, so this move definitely facilitates so many different things.”

While recent community donations have gone towards the move through the OTTC’s capital campaign, participants of the 50/50 draw can be assured their donations will support the education and outreach programs and, as such, will directly benefit the turtles.

“You might win a bunch of money which is lovely but, if not, you just ending up supporting the turtles and that’s really a win-win either way,” O’Day says. “Even just a few dollars gives you a chance to win. It’s a good sum of money and every dollar counts towards the turtles, so we appreciate any amount, and the turtles appreciate it, too.”

To learn more about the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, visit ontarioturtle.ca.