Water refilling stations in Centre 2000 and the Hillsburgh Community Centre have received the green light from council.
The Erin Water Rockers and Transition Erin came as a delegation to the March 17 council meeting and offered to raise the funds for 50 per cent of water refilling station costs.
Council agreed to add the other 50% in the municipal budget for two water refilling stations, one for each facility, under the condition that the Water Rockers and Transition Erin raise their half.
The two groups will work together to create a crowd funding campaign to raise their promised 50%.
“We would run such a campaign between now and June of this year,” said Kathryn Cooper, of Transition Erin. “With the idea that we provide you with our side of the funding and that over the summer you’ll hopefully be able to get them installed so that they’d be up and running for September 2015, when hockey starts again.”
She said that the stations would meet the community needs of spectators, sport participants and coaches who have said they do not like filling up player’s water bottles in bathrooms.
Cooper also said the partnership will support student leadership and learning through the Erin Water Rockers, a water conservation program run by the Grade 6 class at Erin Public School.
“The Water Rockers have put the Town of Erin on the map,” she said. “The work of the Water Rockers is being duplicated across the Upper Grand District School Board and they have started the program in Orangeville and (are) looking at doing that in other places as well.”
Councillors were on board with the partnership.
“This is just a wonderful initiative and I personally don’t see any problem in going ahead in the budget considerations,” councillor John Brennan said.
Councillor Rob Smith said, “It basically shows that we’re putting our shoulders together and going in the same direction and for me that’s more important than people just asking.”
Councillor Jeff Duncan was also in agreement that this is a good initiative.
Cooper also offered the services of Transition Erin and the Water Rockers to help market and do waste audits to support the installation of new recycling programs at the two facilities.
Mayor Allan Alls said Nestlé Waters Canada has already made an offer.
“As of today I had an announcement from Nestlés,” he said. “Nestlés have agreed to do the complete recycling program throughout the whole town of Erin.
“They’re going to put them in our parks, and also in our parkettes … and also in the arenas, so that’s a good step forward.”
In a March 18 press release Nestlé Waters Canada said it donated $8,500 worth of recycling and garbage bins to the town.
The new system was installed the week of March 18 in the town community centres and will be rolled out in the parks over the remainder of the year.
“Given the state-of-the-art recycling infrastructure that is being installed, the recycling model that will be used and the ongoing communications to residents that will be established in all of the facilities and parks, we are very confident that the Town of Erin will make great strides in increased recycling and reduced littering this year and in the years to come,” said Nestlé Waters Canada president Debbie Moore, in the release.
