Janet Stavinga was the final Mayor of Goulbourn Township before amalgamation, and the first City Councillor for Stittsville in the new City of Ottawa. These are the memories that she shared at the CARDELREC–Goulbourn 25th Anniversary celebration on November 25, 2025.
“Goulbourn Township is spending like drunken sailors.”
“Sports Palace approval flawed.”
“A swimming pool is a luxury we can not afford.”
These were some of the headlines in the fall of 1999.
The years 1997–2000 were challenging yet exciting for Goulbourn Township and Council. Our community—especially Stittsville—was growing rapidly, and we were tasked with delivering major projects: the Stittsville Public Library, Fire Station 81, the Abbott and Iber Road extensions to support our Business Park, and new recreational services.
At the same time, we prepared to expand Goulbourn Hydro beyond Richmond through acquiring Hydro One assets—an effort by the Goulbourn Hydro Commission championed by Chair John Curry.
This period also coincided with the movement towards major municipal restructuring. In August 1999, Minister Steve Gilchrist announced a process that would drastically reform municipal government for specific regions, including Ottawa-Carleton. Ultimately, this process would lead to the amalgamated City of Ottawa.
However, the story of the Goulbourn Recreation Complex began many years before. In 1991, through the vision of the former Mayor Anton Wytenburg, his Council, and Goulbourn Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, a Recreation Master Plan was commissioned. This report set the stage for an arena and indoor aquatic facility.
Between 1995 – 1997, under Mayor Paul Bradley, Council began the implementation of these plans, including the completion of a User Needs Study and determining where best to locate a proposed recreational facility. Ultimately, we selected the Abbott Street West site, securing a conditional offer and a partnership with the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board to co-locate a new high school.
Discussions for the Goulbourn Recreation Complex further evolved with a new Council in 1997. The project was advanced with a strong focus on fiscal responsibility.
We acquired the land in fall 1998—preserving 19 acres of cedar forest, now known as Kemp Woods—some months after the conclusion of an Ontario Municipal Board hearing.
Council held numerous community forums to discuss this proposed initiative, while also exploring avenues to finance this project through private-public partnerships.
Ultimately, Council chose a municipally funded facility as the best value. Community groups, including the Recreation Advisory Committee, Richmond Munster Minor Hockey, Residents for a Pool in Goulbourn, Goulbourn Minor Soccer, amongst many others, helped shape the design and construction phases.
Nearly a decade after the original Recreation Master Plan, we broke ground on November 20, 1999.
Working with the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board, we shared resources to reduce land and servicing costs. Infrastructure was installed to support future expansion, including a second ice pad and multi-purpose space.
Council also approved the reconstruction and 5 km extension of Shea Road to connect the communities of Richmond, Munster and Ashton to our new facility.
We also gratefully accepted an in-kind donation from Thomas Cavanagh Construction Limited for the construction of the parking lot to serve the sports fields.
Just over a year later, we celebrated the opening of Phase 1 of the Goulbourn Recreation Complex on November 25, 2000.
Phase 1 of the Complex featured an NHL-sized sledge-hockey–accessible rink, an Olympic-sized six lane training pool with a play pool and hydrotherapy areas, and new outdoor sports fields.
Phase 2—a multi-purpose space and second ice pad—was later built by the City of Ottawa under Councillor Shad Qadri and Mayor Jim Watson.
Over time, our two ice pads and our gymnasium were dedicated to local sports heroes including:
Matt Bradley in recognition of his excellence in hockey in 2013.
Erica Wiebe, after winning the 2016 Olympic gold for wrestling in Rio.
Katie Xu and Jack Fan, ambassadors for the special needs community, in the sport of figure skating, in 2018.
These plaques can be viewed along with the revived Stittsville Sports Hall of Fame resurrected in 2024 by my former colleague, Councillor Allan Ryan, Bob Mills, our former Parks and Recreation Director, and a dedicated selection committee, with plaques honouring Stittsville’s greatest athletes, coaches, and officials.
In the foyer, check out the names of the many recipients of the Stittsville Volunteer Awards, which began in 1990 under the leadership of Mayor Anton Wytenburg, with the Roger Griffiths Memorial Citizen of the Year and then expanded by future Goulbourn Councils. These awards continued under the leadership of former Councillor Qadri and now Councillor Gower
I extend my deep appreciation to the final Goulbourn Township Council (1997–2000)—Louise Beggs, Mike Bryan, Stephen Lewis, and the late Dwayne Barkley.
Your voices around the Council table during those challenging years always reflected the interests of your constituents, including holding space for the diversity of views – not always an easy task. You always looked to the future – beyond election cycles.
Dwayne’s advocacy, in particular, ensured our rink accommodated sledge hockey.
As a Council, we were equally grateful for the dedication of our municipal team: Solicitor Jim McInich, Planning and Economic Development Director Danny Page, Recreation Director Bob Mills and his staff, and the late Bob Townend, our Chief Administrative Officer, whose exceptional financial acumen made all of these community investments possible.
Through the collective efforts of Council, staff, volunteers, and residents, we built a facility that strengthens physical and mental well-being and serves as a vital social and cultural gathering place. Twenty-five years on, this facility continues to bring our community together – to connect us, to celebrate our diversity, to build relationships, and to grow together.
Congratulations to all—this 25th anniversary celebration is yours.