Rendering of new YMCA Centre For Life / City of Belleville, YMCA Presentation Oct 2025.
The final Belleville Council meeting of the current term for outgoing Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis, quickly touched on an investigation surrounding the new YMCA Centre For Life.
Construction on the new building continues along Bridge Street West. Originally, the plan was to build it on the old Belleville fairgrounds site down the road. Due to the timeline to clean up the contamination in the ground, plans were made to adjust the building layout to fit Centennial Park down the road.
The decision around location was publicly announced by council in August 2025.
Monday’s Council meeting brought forward a report by Belleville’s Integrity Commissioner and closed meeting investigator David Boghosian.
The report showed that Belleville resident Alex Wideman filed a complaint on September 23rd of this year. He alleged that council breached the open meeting provisions of the Municipal Act, in the closed session of Council held on May 11, 2026, and any closed sessions where Council declared the land for the new YMCA as surplus.
The Integrity Commissioner/Closed Meeting Investigator wrote in his decision to Council that he has found that Belleville Council breached the Municipal Act.
He stated the following in his report:
“At the June 23 and July 14, 2025 Council meetings, the City followed its closed session practices in place at that time. Following receipt of Closed Meeting Investigator Report CMI-2026-01 in June 2026, the City implemented all recommendations of the Closed Meeting Investigator and updated its practices relating to Closed Session meetings. The lands on Bridge Street West will be declared surplus to the needs of the municipality in an Open Session Council meeting. After the lands are declared surplus, an updated draft by-law authorizing the sale of the land will be brought forward for Council’s consideration.”
Boghosian went on to conclude that he has wrapped up his investigation and does not feel he needs to make any recommendations specifically about the land transfer issue.
He did however make a recommendation that Belleville staff should make sure that the open session of Council and the subsequent reports clearly outline whether Belleville Council has voted or is set to take a vote on a matter that is considered substantial.
Around the horseshoe, Belleville Council Paul Carr raised a few questions around the recommendations and finer details of the report.
“Certainly I think it needs to be said, it’s not like Council sits around here and decides what were going to do in-camera and out of camera. We get our agenda a few days before the meeting,” said Carr.
Belleville staff noted that they have made some changes with an aim to increase transparency with the public.
Belleville Council voted to accept the report by the Integrity Commissioner/Closed meeting investigator.
The new YMCA Centre For Life is expected to open next year.
