Dear Track North Athletes,
Alumni, Parents and Supporters,
This is an update on the potential sale of the Laurentian
University green space. For those of you who aren’t
aware of this issue, the insolvency (CCAA) managers at
Laurentian have employed a Toronto firm to perform a real
estate review of the campus to recommend assets that could
sold to reduce the school’s debt. That review includes
the track and surrounding green space that is so important
to students, athletes and the Sudbury community.
The green space includes
the trails, including Loach’s, the beach, the Nepahwin
lakeshore around the beach, Bennett Lake, a portion of
the Lake Laurentian shoreline, and all the wooded area
enclosing it up to the border of the conservation area.
The outdoor track would be included in the review, although
I’m not sure about the legality of selling it since
the city MAY have an ownership stake in the facility.
Be aware however, that if the outdoor track is able to
be sold, its greatest value to a real estate developer
might be as land, not as an athletic facility.
Comments from advisors and
President Haché that once hinted that the school
wouldn’t sell the green space have been replaced
by quotes from a board member that hard decisions will
have to be made. This was after a presentation by the
Coalition for a Livable Sudbury in which a request was
made for a statement of reassurance that the LU green
space would not be sold or monetized. Be aware that five
members of the Board of Governors who will make this decision
are new to their position.
The decision will apparently
be made by the end of the month.
On the positive side is that
the new chairman of the Board of Governors has said that
the board has received a number of emails, letters and
calls regarding the green space they “are being
taken seriously. They're being considered in our overall
decision making that we're going to be doing now, and
in the weeks and months ahead,”
This is where you can play
a role.
How to Take Action
If the potential loss of
the Laurentian green space is important to you, this would
be a good time to send an email or letter to the Board.
It doesn’t have to be long - even a few sentences
would send a message - but this is a situation in which
an accumulation of such messages could make a difference.
The email might include your opinion on a number of issues,
including:
-If you attended Laurentian,
was your decision to attend affected by the presence of
the green space?
-What was your first exposure to Laurentian? The green
space? The outdoor track?
-Would the sale of the green space affect your future
decision to donate to LU?
-How did you/do you use the green space?
-What would you lose if the green space were sold. What
would the community lose?
-How do you think the green space affects recruiting efforts
to the school?
-Will the campus be irreparably damaged without the green
space?
-Would you fight rezoning of these lands at the city level
to prevent development?
You can send emails as a
group email to the members of the Board of Governors,
including president Haché by copying them into
your email program. Just copy below for a group email:
Robert Haché<president@laurentian.ca>,Debbi
Nicholson<debbi@sudburychamber.ca>,Don Duval<dduval@norcat.org>,Robert
Brouillette<robert@cityweldingsudbury.ca>,Gerry
Bilodeau<gnbmci50@gmail.com>,Jeff Bangs<jeff@pathwaygroup.com>,Martin
Bayer <mbayer@weaversimmons.ca>,Maxim Jean-Louis
<maxim@contactnorth.ca>,Brian Montgomery <blmontgomery@mlalaw.ca>,Eric
Chappell <echappell@laurentian.ca>,Peter Xavier
<Peter.Xavier@glencore.ca>
Alternatively, you could
send emails to individual members by copying each of the
following into individually. Robert Haché is the
university president. Jeff Bangs is the new Chair of the
Board of Governors.
Robert Haché <president@laurentian.ca>
Jeff Bangs <jeff@pathwaygroup.com>
Debbi Nicholson <debbi@sudburychamber.ca>
Don Duval <dduval@norcat.org>
Robert Brouillette <robert@cityweldingsudbury.ca>
Gerry Bilodeau <gnbmci50@gmail.com>
Martin Bayer <mbayer@weaversimmons.ca>
Maxim Jean-Louis <maxim@contactnorth.ca>
Brian Montgomery <blmontgomery@mlalaw.ca>
Eric Chappell <echappell@laurentian.ca>
Peter Xavier <Peter.Xavier@glencore.ca>
There are several members
whose emails I could not find.
Dick
P.S. A Northern Life article
about the green space issue is at:
https://tinyurl.com/2stb88pt
 
LU Greenspace and Rocks!! at Bennett Lake
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