Population boom in ‘small-town’ LaSalle fuels push to expand Vollmer Centre

LaSalle is expecting a major population jump, which could cause pressure on municipal services. CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru has more.

As LaSalle considers expanding one of its busiest recreation facilities, town officials say the proposal reflects the pressures of serving a growing community — changes that have some residents worried the town is losing its “small-town feel.”

Residents were invited to the Vollmer Culture and Recreation Complex on Monday to review and provide feedback on a potential expansion of the facility. The concept includes a double gymnasium, a new seniors’ centre, and additional fitness space.

LaSalle Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Peter Marra said many of the programs offered at the Vollmer Centre are already operating at capacity.

“In order to better provide programs for the community and to expand programs, we need some additional space,” Marra said.

Marra said concerns about losing LaSalle’s small-town identity are raised regularly by residents.

“We hear that quite often, where the small-town feel is starting to go away,” he said.

Town planning materials estimate LaSalle currently has about 36,100 residents and project that number could reach approximately 50,500 by 2051 — an increase of about 40 per cent.

For the seven municipalities governed by Essex County, they had a combined planning population of approximately 199,100 in 2021.

A medium-growth forecast prepared as part of the county’s Official Plan review projects that figure could reach 232,500 by 2031 — an increase of approximately 33,400 people over one decade.

Those figures cover Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, LaSalle, Lakeshore, Leamington, and Tecumseh. They do not include the City of Windsor or the Township of Pelee.

For longtime LaSalle resident Jim Baillargeon, the community’s transformation is already visible.

Baillargeon moved from Windsor to LaSalle in 1999, attracted in part by lower taxes and the atmosphere of a smaller community.

“It was nice. It was more of a small-town feel.”

While Baillargeon believes growth is positive overall, he said it is changing the character of the town. He added growth has created challenges involving traffic, construction, and access to local businesses.

He pointed to planned work on Malden Road as an example of infrastructure improvements that may be needed to accommodate more people but could also disrupt nearby businesses.

“If you’re somebody that’s a business owner and they shut down in front of you multiple times, it has an impact on you,” he said.

Windsor city councillor Kieran McKenzie, a member of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s board of directors, said population growth can have a particularly dramatic effect on smaller municipalities.

An increase that represents only one or two per cent growth in a larger city could amount to 10 or 15 per cent in a smaller community, he said.

“That turns into real service pressure,” McKenzie said, pointing to roads, policing, waste management, water systems, stormwater infrastructure, and electricity capacity as examples.

McKenzie said municipalities may have to spend heavily on those systems before new development produces enough tax revenue to offset the cost.

“There’s a certain amount of risk that a municipality has to take,” he said.

While continued growth can eventually strengthen a municipality’s tax base, McKenzie said smaller communities may struggle to finance the initial upgrades residents require.

“There is a big challenge to be able to meet rising service-level demand and expectation in communities where they just don’t have the fiscal capacity to start to deliver those services across the board,” he said.

He said the challenge is made worse when local governments are also paying for responsibilities he believes should be carried by the province.

“Municipalities are currently funding over $4 billion of program and service delivery that fall within provincial frameworks,” said McKenzie, adding that leaves fewer municipal dollars available for the infrastructure and services needed to support population growth.

“So, we’re picking up the tab on some provincial work while, at the same time, feeling the pressure of population growth in our communities,” he said.

When asked about how smaller municipalities can reduce costs, McKenzie said that happens by working together rather than building every service independently.

“I don’t want to use the term ‘amalgamation’ — but where you can find opportunities to partner with municipalities to be able to develop those capacities and pool dollars in order to meet service levels and service-level pressure,” said McKenzie.

“That’s the solution.”

As for Baillargeon, the 27-year resident of LaSalle said he will miss the town’s traditional small-town atmosphere as traffic levels, infrastructure projects, and population numbers rise.

But despite his concerns, Baillargeon added it would be unfair to oppose the same kind of expansion that allowed him to move into LaSalle more than two decades ago.

“Had it not grown, we wouldn’t be here ourselves, so you can’t really be averse to expansion,” he said.

“It’s a bit selfish to think you’re not going to allow the expansion for other people to come in.”