Councillor Josh Matlow says in his newsletter released today that a deal has been reached for the City to buy a large portion of the Glebe Manor Lawn Bowling Club property. The builder who bought the land through transactions that seemed doubtful to many people has now been given permission to build a single townhouse on the site at 196 Manor Road. The size of the remaining parkland will by 1,138 sq. metres which Mr. Matlow says represents 4/5 of the property. He does not discuss the negotiations nor the price paid. The City however has always held an ace in the form of its power to grant or deny a building permit.
MANY MEMBERS NOT CONSULTED
It is a community drama which has played out largely in the shadows with many questions remaining unanswered. In July of 2014 eight shareholders of the Glebe Manor Road Lawn Bowling Club led by Manor Rd. resident and former member Derek Tilley sent a letter to the president of the club, Phillip Foubert, demanding that he convene a meeting to discuss alleged shareholder rights violations. The demand was made in the wake of the move by Mr. Foubert and members of the board of directors of the club to sell the property to a developer. But according to Tilley, there were as many 872 outstanding shares in the club representing potentially hundreds of members who were never consulted on such a sale. Ultimately, a closed meeting was held at the Lea Room at which no one who objected to the sale, including Matlow, the media and former members, was allowed to enter. Not surprisingly, Mr. Matlow himself called the circumstances “fishy.”
IS THIS THE END?
Many people hoped that former bowling club president Wally Rayner was correct when he said that the 1923 articles of incorporation of the club required the property to be returned either to Glebe Presbyterian Church (from which the land had been given as a gift) or to the City for a nominal sum if the company ceased to exist as a lawn bowling club. Rayner was president in 1999. But his assertions were apparently not easily certified at City Hall. By the summer of 2014, Glebe Presbyterian Church itself was but a memory. Whether there is yet another chapter to the story of the Glebe Manor Lawn Bowling Club remains an open question. What was said and done between the City and the developer seems to be done with, to use a term.
