Wellesley, Ontario

Conestoga College, and other institutions in Kitchener-Waterloo. When it comes to infrastructure, the municipality is working to improve road quality with a continuous repaving schedule, and in 2023 they will take on a $2.5 million project to completely reconstruct Queen’s Bush Road in the Village of Wellesley. That will include new storm sewer management systems. A project near and dear to the township that brought community members together like never before is the new recreation complex. In 2019, the current complex in the Village of Wellesley was shuttered due to safety concerns stemming from problems with the roof. Nowak recalls, “It was a very difficult decision, and caused a lot of anxiety in the community, but it caused something wonderful. It was just amazing the way the community rallied behind us, as we started to look for options moving forward.” The municipality decided not to waste money trying to fix the 45-year-old building and harkened back to the 2014 Recreation and Culture Master Plan that pointed out many things the township was lacking, including soccer fields, skateboard parks, trails, and other amenities. The community is now helping to design and fundraise for the new recreation complex. The township council is in the preliminary stages of choosing one of the finished design concepts and the $22 million project has gone out for bid – scheduled to break ground in April 2022. The Province of Ontario funded $16 million and the community is working to raise the remaining $6 million. When completed the new recreation complex will include a gymnasium, fitness facilities, an NHL-sized hockey rink with seating for 500, a skateboard park, a youth center, commercial kitchen, walking tracks, seniors’ active living center, and much more. Nowak boasts, “It’s exciting... it’s transformational. It’s going to TOWNSHI P OF WELLESLEY , ONTAR IO