Civic Recreation Complex Health Club, Anne Ottenbrite Pool to reopen July 26 by appointment; in-person service delivery to be expanded

On Friday, July 9, the Ontario government announced the entire province – including the Town of Whitby – can enter Step Three of its roadmap to reopen effective Friday, July 16 at 12:01 a.m.

The move into this final step is based on improvements in key public health and health system indicators, as well as between 70 and 80 percent of adults having received at least one dose and 25 per cent of adults having received their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine for at least two weeks.

The province will remain in Step Three for a period of at least 21 days and until 80 per cent of the eligible population aged 12 and over has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 75 per cent have received their second, with no public health unit having less than 70 per cent of their population fully vaccinated. Upon meeting these thresholds, the vast majority of public health and workplace safety measures, including capacity limits for indoor and outdoor settings and limits for social gatherings, will be lifted.

Here’s what you need to know now:

Community Centres

Health Club and Pools

On Monday, July 26, both the Whitby Civic Recreation Complex Health Club and the Anne Ottenbrite Pool (located at Iroquois Park Sports Centre) will reopen to the public by appointment only. Starting Thursday, July 22, residents wishing to book an appointment for a recreational swim in the pool or work out in the health club can do so up to five days in advance of a time at whitby.ca/getactive. Health and safety measures continue to be in place and must be followed by all who enter the facilities.

The Whitby Civic Recreation Complex pool is not expected to open until fall 2022 to allow for more than $5 million in upgrades to be completed. A significant portion of this funding is from federal and provincial grants received by the Town earlier this year. Renovations will include new inclusive change rooms that improve access to aquatic programming for facility users of all ages and abilities; multi-purpose recreation programming space; and safety upgrades. The Town thanks residents for their patience as this work is completed.

Arenas

The Town is now accepting requests for ice time on a first-come, first serve basis. Requests can be made by emailing facilityschedules@whitby.ca.

Other Community Centres

At this time, all other community centres remain closed to the general public. Limited space at some Whitby community centres is now open for private bookings (to a maximum of 50 per cent of a room’s capacity). Groups interested in booking a space can email facilities@whitby.ca or call 905.668.7765 to learn more about space availability.

The Town thanks residents for their patience and will continue to provide updates about next steps to reopening as they are confirmed. To receive updates on reopening plans and other virtual program opportunities, visit whitby.ca/subscribe.

Connecting With The Town

As part of Step Three, the Town is expanding its in-person service delivery at Town Hall and the Garden Street Branch. Effective Monday, July 26, a number of services will be available in-person without the need for an appointment. These include:

• building department inquiries,
• building permits,
• business licences,
• civil marriage ceremony bookings,
• commissioner of oaths,
• freedom of information requests (new submissions only),
• lottery licencing,
• payment of parking tickets,
• planning and development inquiries,
• pool enclosure permits for new pool construction,
• special events permits (for events to be held after August 1, 2021),
• property tax services, including payments and rebate applications; and
• viewing of property tax assessment roll books.

Some in-person services, like marriage licences, still require an appointment. For a list of these and other frequently requested services and how to access them, visit whitby.ca/services.

Before entering a Town facility, residents will be required to follow health and safety protocols, like wearing a mask. Capacity limits will also be in place to ensure the safety of everyone entering the facility and comply with public health requirements. There may be a wait to enter a building.

Outdoor Recreation Amenities

The Town’s outdoor recreational amenities continue to remain open. This includes: splash pads, Port Whitby Marina, the public boat launch, basketball courts and more. See what’s open here.

The Town is also permitting for outdoor sports games and league play for sports like baseball and lacrosse subject to Provincial and Regional regulations.

Whitby Public Library

The Central Library is now open with capacity limits for browsing and computer use. Study areas, seating and 3D printing will also be available starting this Friday, July 16. Contactless Pickup will continue at the Brooklin Branch until July 31 and at the Rossland Branch until August 6. Brooklin will reopen August 3. Rossland will reopen August 10.

Community and Business Impacts

Step Three also means changes to permitted activities in both indoor and outdoor settings. Changes include, but are not limited to:

• up to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors being permitted to gather;
• the reopening of indoor dining, with physical distancing or plexiglass separations between tables;
• expanded capacity limits for retail businesses; indoor religious services, rites and ceremonies; and personal care services to the amount of people who can maintain physical distancing; and,
• expanded capacity limits for indoor religious services, rites and ceremonies to the amount of people who can maintain physical distancing.

Face coverings in indoor public settings and physical distancing requirements remain in place throughout Step Three. View the provincial regulation for the full list of public health and workplace safety measures that need to be followed.

More Information

The Town continues to review updates from the Ontario government to assess their local impact. For ongoing updates, visit whitby.ca/COVID.

* Outdoor facility or amenity use only permitted when maintaining physical distance of at least two metres (or six feet) between yourself and others living outside your home.