Town shares update on re-opening of select municipal facilities

The Town of St. Marys is providing an update on its plans to re-open the Pyramid Recreation Centre, St. Marys Station Gallery and Town Hall.

The municipality is carefully monitoring the rising number of COVID-19 cases and is following all guidelines from the Province of Ontario and Huron Perth Public Health. All re-opening plans are subject to change as necessary to protect the health and safety of residents, visitors and staff.

Pyramid Recreation Centre

In August, Town Council approved a plan to re-open each of the Pyramid Recreation Centre’s amenities on an individual basis, starting in October.

Ice pads

One of the centre’s two ice pads will be open as of Thursday, October 1, 2020. Staff and Council will monitor the situation and consider opening the second pad in November if they feel it can be done safely while meeting all public health guidelines. The change rooms will also be open as of October 1 with limited capacity to allow space for patrons to practice physical distancing while tying skates.

Friendship Centre

The St. Marys Friendship Centre will re-open early in October for physically-distanced indoor recreation programming. It will continue to offer its popular telephone and virtual programming in the meantime and going forward. Information about recreation programming is available on the Pyramid Recreation Centre Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pyramidcentre) or by calling 519-284-3272.

Aquatics Centre

The Aquatics Centre will open on Friday, November 2, 2020 as approved in August. The pool will be open from Sunday to Thursday to accommodate the maximum number of pool users. Programs will include aquafit, lane swimming and family swims, but there will be no swimming lessons this year. A full schedule of programs will be released in October; access to online registration for aquatics programs will be available soon.

Rentals

The PRC will not be accepting bookings from external renters in the near future, with the exception of blood donor and immunization clinics.

St. Marys Station Gallery

Although the St. Marys VIA Rail Station is currently open with limited hours, the art gallery located in the building remains closed. The Town is working with the St. Marys Station Gallery on a plan to re-open the exhibit space early in October.

Town Hall

Town Hall is tentatively scheduled to re-open late in October with limited hours of 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Even when the building is open, the doors will remain locked and patrons will have to ring a doorbell for service due to physical distancing requirements.

Reminders for visitors

Enhanced cleaning practices and COVID-19 protocols have been put in place at all municipal facilities to protect the health and safety of staff and patrons. Those planning a visit to any Town facility are reminded to:

• Reconsider their visit if they are feeling sick or experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19
• Practice physical distancing by leaving 2 m/6 ft. of space between themselves and others 
• Wash their hands before and after their visit, and use hand sanitizer during their visit
• Wear a mask or face covering when inside the facility, as directed by Huron Perth Public Health

Updates and information

Updates about the Town’s re-opening plans and COVID-19 response will be posted to the Town website (townofstmarys.com/covid19), Facebook page (facebook.com/stmarysontario) and Twitter account (twitter.com/townofstmarys), and will be shared in our weekly column in the St. Marys Independent Newspaper. Questions about the Town’s re-opening plans can be directed to communications@town.stmarys.on.ca or 519-284-2340.

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Contact

Brett O’Reilly | Corporate Communications & Events Manager
519-284-2340, ext. 432 | boreilly@town.stmarys.on.ca