Windsor's historic Jackson Park bandshell won't be restored — but residents will have a say to honour it
Instead, the city will consider public consultation on how to honour the bandshell's heritage
Windsor residents will get a chance to weigh in on how the city should honour the history of the Jackson Park bandshell — but the city won't consider a complete overhaul of the historic structure, after a decision by a city committee Wednesday morning.
The city's community services committee opted not to approve a motion from Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante that would see the city go move forward with a feasibility study for restoring and using the historic bandshell.
Instead, the committee opted to endorse a motion to begin some public consultation on how to honour the heritage and history of the structure — while not ultimately returning it to use.
"My position is that the bandshell, its history and heritage, deserves a feasibility study," Costante said. "I would love to see that space get restored and revitalized and activated again.
"A lot of great cities that I've been able to see in my travels in Western Europe and other places really take time to ensure that their history is protected and I think this is an opportunity for us to do that with the bandshell."
Lana Talbot, a member of the board of the Black Council of Windsor-Essex, says she's disappointed with the decision not to fully restore the bandshell.
"Emancipation started back in 1833, and here we are in 2023 and they're still treating us the exact same way like we do not matter," Talbot said. "For those councillors, shame on them, shame on them."
The bandshell has been deteriorating for about 30 years and has been unused during that time.
But in its heyday, the performance space was a central element of Windsor's Emancipation Day celebrations and battles of the bands and played host to musical greats like Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross.
"Now we're going to sit up and we can't honour the place where they sang, what is with that?," Talbot said. "Come on, city of Windsor, you're better than that."
The report on the status and feasibility of restoring the bandshell was first requested by Ward 9 Coun. Kieran McKenzie last year, when he was on the community services committee.
The report found it would cost at least $100,000 for a feasibility study, plus other potentially needed studies. The current bandshell dates to 1959, after the previous bandshell — in Windsor since 1909 — burned down in a fire.
The report that went before the committee notes that one reason the bandshell hasn't been used is that part of it sits on what is school board land, making it challenging to use the bandshell for large gatherings.
Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino says he doesn't think it would be possible to fully restore the bandshell — but does agree the structure's history needs to be preserved.
"I think these are the conversations we're going to have with the stakeholders and the people in the community in general ... what do we do with this stage [that] means so much to our community, means so much to our history, but is really unusable in its current state and in its current location," Agostino said.
"I'm excited to hear some of the ideas that come across the table."
Agostino said he's meeting with stakeholders to begin informal discussions on Thursday.
Windsor city council will consider the motion for final approval at a future meeting.
with files from Dale Molnar