Burlington Council Unanimously Approves Robert Bateman Community Centre Name for New Redeveloped Facility
It's official -- Burlington's newest community centre will be named the Robert Bateman Community Centre!
At our Dec. 12 meeting, Burlington City Council unanimously approved the staff recommendation after the selection committee was in consensus that the community had overwhelmingly chosen the name Robert Bateman Community Centre and it would be disingenuous to poll the community again or put a shortlist to a vote. The selection committee comprised of City staff and advisory committee members who created a shortlist from names submitted by the community. The committee used City policy to guide the shortlisted options.The community can stay informed of updates on construction and future public engagement opportunities by subscribing to www.getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschoolSee the approved full motion and My Take below, as well as the staff report and staff presentation at committee further down this post.APPROVED MOTION:
- Approve Robert Bateman Community Centre as the new name for the location currently known as Robert Bateman High School as described in recreation, community and culture department report RCC-20-23 Former Robert Bateman High School - naming update; and
- Authorize the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture to execute all agreements, amendments, extensions, and ancillary documents that may be necessary regarding the use of Mr. Robert Bateman’s name and/or trademark and in a form satisfactory to the Executive Director of Legal Services and Corporation Counsel or designate.
MY TAKE:This is a really great outcome. Thank you to City staff, stakeholder groups and the selection committee for overseeing the consultation and selection process, as well as to all those in our community who submitted suggested names for our newest community centre. City staff course corrected after the results they saw in our naming process and from the selection committee -- an overwhelming support to keep the Robert Bateman name. Mr. Bateman has informed the City he is delighted to have this honour.The suggested name Robert Bateman Community Centre aligns to many aspects of our City's Naming of Corporate Assets Policy, including preference for names that:
- “recognize international, national, provincial events/competitors/participants.”
- Mr. Bateman is a recipient of the Order of Canada.
- “give a sense of place, continuity, and belonging reflecting the geographic location, community, neighborhood, or street where the corporate asset is located.”
- The community is already accustomed to calling this location “Bateman” or “Robert Bateman.
- “honours a person, persons, a family, or group, living or deceased, who have made a significant contribution to the community”.
- The community voice has been clear how proud they are of Mr. Bateman’s accomplishments, and his Burlington heritage. Mr. Bateman has also shared how important Burlington was in his life.
- Robert Bateman has donated artwork to the City in the past, most of which is in the safe keeping of the Ireland House Museum and consists of 297 prints, limited edition prints, preliminary sketches, and artist proofs. The replacement of this collection at last appraisal (2016) was $243,100.
• • •
To read the staff report and related supporting documents, please click/tap the links below:
- Staff report: RCC-20-23 Former Robert Bateman High School - Naming Update.pdf
- Staff presentation: RCC-20-23 Staff presentation Former Robert Bateman High School - Naming Update.pdf
BACKGROUND:In June 2023, Council supported a recommendation in report RCC-14-23 to “engage the community during Q3 of 2023 on naming options … for the location formerly known as Robert Bateman High School.” Within that report, Council also approved the uncoupling of sponsorship from naming at Bateman, and supported the recommendation that staff report back to Council by the end of 2025 on the future of sponsorship and naming of assets. Interdependent timelines with construction played a role in these decisions, as there is a need to approve a name for the location by the end of 2024, to meet signage submission deadlines relating to Phase 1 construction.As outlined in the report, a three-step process was intended to be followed:
- The community suggests names.
- A selection committee composed of City staff and advisory committee members create a shortlist from those submitted by the community. The committee uses City policy to guide the shortlisted options.
- Residents vote on shortlisted names.
In August, the community was engaged to suggest names for the new community centre and invited to submit ideas and rationale. The survey was open for approximately six weeks, closing at midnight on September 19. This timeline allowed for sufficient feedback including, in-person participation at Food for Feedback, as well as online opportunities through Get Involved. A committee was formed to review the submissions and create a shortlist of names that both aligned to the policy and represented the community voice. The committee includes delegates from the Advisory Committees of Heritage and Inclusion, the ward councillor, a representative from the Mayor’s Indigenous Talking Circle, and the City’s Executive Director, Community Relations and Engagement.The committee met to discuss the names submitted by the community. In all, 221 names were received:
- 44% were in favour of Robert Bateman Community Centre (or a close variation).
- The next highest in terms of ranking was Lord Elgin Community Centre at 7%; concerns around this name have been raised regarding ties to colonialism.
- Several names were submitted that had to do with the physical location of the building – e.g., Pineland, Pinedale, Appleby, New Street – combined locationbased themes were 16% of the total names submitted but if left without theming, the highest was 3% (Pinedale).
As shared earlier via CIP Memo (October 27, 2023), the consensus of the committee was that the community had overwhelmingly chosen the name Robert Bateman Community Centre and it would be disingenuous to poll the community again or put a shortlist to a vote. Deciding this at this juncture was unexpected as previously we had told the community we would go back out with a shortlist for voting.RELATED LINK: