‘Original vision’

Dear Editor:

I am the nephew of the late Ken and Eileen Hammill. On Jan. 21, I participated in the rally to save 20 acres or one-sixth of the former Kortright Waterfowl Park lands from development. I am heartsick that the legacy my aunt and uncle worked so hard to leave to the citizens of Guelph is under threat.

Ken and Eileen Hamill worked tirelessly for the benefit of present and future generations. The long list of projects they championed included learn-to-swim programs for elementary students, the new main library and the skating rink in front of City Hall.

But the project dearest to their hearts in the 1970s was their vision for the Hanlon Creek Conservation Area on the lands of the former Niska Farm, which became the Frank Kortright Waterfowl Centre.

My aunt Eileen was the daughter of Horace Mack, the original owner of the Niska Farm. When her father died in 1959, the family arranged for the farm to be sold to the Ontario Waterfowl Research Foundation in 1961, later renamed as the Frank Kortright Waterfowl Centre.

When the Waterfowl Centre closed, Ken and Eileen and former Mayor Norm Jary persuaded the GRCA to buy the 116 acres of the Centre to protect it in perpetuity and hold it in trust for Guelph citizens. In 1977, when the purchase was executed, my uncle Ken was an alderman on Guelph council. Council voted to contribute 30 to 40 per cent of the purchase price.

Imagine the thrill when a letter arrived from the Minister of Natural Resources announcing a $160,000 grant towards the purchase of the Frank Kortright Waterfowl Centre as part of the Hanlon Creek Conservation Area. The remaining 10% of the purchase cost was contributed by the GRCA.

Fast forward almost 50 years and today’s civic leaders seem to have forgotten about the original vision for the Kortright Conservation Area. In 2012 through a previous official plan update, Guelph council seems to have inadvertently redesignated one sixth of the former Kortright Waterfowl Park for housing – land that was part of a Hanlon Creek Master Plan already approved by an earlier council and by the GRCA. 

City council now has the opportunity to correct a past error and redesignate the land back to open space/parkland, as Ken and Eileen Hamill originally intended.

By returning protections to the entire Kortright lands, Guelph council will be reaffirming the work and vision of my aunt and uncle, and of the citizens of Guelph. 

I’d also like to thank the overwhelming number of Guelphites (and people outside our community) who are pushing for a return of all the Kortright lands to conservation. Ken and Eileen would be proud of you.

Chris Hammill,
Guelph