Kitchissippi Ward

Office of Councillor Jeff Leiper

Van Lang agreement review

The field house at Van Lang (29 Van Lang Private) is approaching its first decade in operation! The field house and land it sits on is owned by Ottawa Community Housing, leased by the City, and is operated by the Dovercourt Recreation Association. Recently I was asked by community stakeholders to move forward a review of the operating agreements that dictate the relationship between those three parties. The requirement for a review is built into the operating agreements, but hadn’t yet been done.

Photo: Westboro Beach Community Association

I’ve completed my review after consultation, and don’t recommend changes to the agreements. I know the community was hoping to leverage the operating agreements as a way to funnel programming dollars into Van Lang, particularly to serve youth and seniors. That’s a legitimate aspiration, but programming falls outside the keep-the-lights-on purview of the agreements and lands squarely at Council’s feet to fund programming in field houses if that’s a direction it wants to take.

While I don’t make any suggestions for changes to the agreements, the exercise of conducting a review has unearthed some day-to-day issues around building access, repairs and refreshment and communications that are at the forefront of stakeholders’ to-do lists, now, and I’m grateful the community, and the Westboro Beach Community Association in particular, spurred this exercise.

Read my report here.