“The times that we’re in, we could use a little extra entertainment,” said Mayor Guy Desjardins during a phone interview following the July 21 special session of council.
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Council approved a deal with Ciné-parc Horizon, a Montréal-based company that provides “a retro-style travelling cinema” to neighbourhood areas in Montréal’s north and east sectors. The company is expanding its operations outside of the city and one of the stops now on its itinerary is the Clarence-Rockland area.
The agreement with Ciné-parc Horizon expands on the city’s original plan to host two “movie night” events in Rockland during the summer to provide a family entertainment opportunity during the current pandemic situation. Now there will be six movie night events in Rockland, August 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, and 17, with Ciné-parc Horizon using the rear parking lot area of the Clarence-Rockland Arena on County Road 17.
The agreement between the City and Ciné-parc calls for the company to pay the municipality a rental fee for use of the parking lot area and provides the City with proof of insurance liability coverage for the event. The company is also responsible for providing a site plan for its planned movie night event, maintaining public health pandemic safety standards for the site during the event, and cleaning up the site afterwards.
The City will provide a municipal employee on-site to assist Ciné-parc Horizon with overseeing the event and making sure that public health safety guidelines are followed. The City will also provide two portable toilets and a handwashing or hand disinfection station for the event, along with garbage cans, barricades, and other needed equipment that is available.
Ciné-parc Horizon also plans to bring the drive-in movie experience to Clarence-Rockland’s rural area. Council approved a 120-day land use exemption for a site at 2005 Laval Street in Bourget where the company plans to set up movie night event closer to home for rural residents.
Both of the drive-in theatre events are temporary summer activities. But Mayor Desjardins indicated the City would be interested in having them continue into fall if they proved popular with residents and profitable for the company.
“It would all depend on how the company feels,” he said.
