So what exactly are you looking at in the picture? This steel pole is located very near to the Canagagigue Creek on the west side of Bolender Park. In fact but for the tree in the way you could see the new splashpad as well as the kids jungle gym in the background. There are two more of these poles on the west side of the creek near the pedestrian walkway and the covered picnic tables (pavillion) behind the washrooms facing Church St. The one near the picnic tables at one time had a light on it after dark possibly to discourage vandalism. Certainly the one in the picture above would be useless as a light both where it's located and due to the tree blocking it.
Several people have closely examined these hollow steel poles recently and the concensus is that they are probably methane vents partly because there doesn't seem to be any glass at the top of them for a light to shine through. That said the manufacturer is Lacal Industries of Newmarket, Ontario and they were bought out by Polefab many decades ago. Both companies manufacture steel poles for holding lights, solar panels and traffic signs etc. Their customers are the Ontario Ministry of Transport and municipalities. They also manufacture custom poles, to order, for municipalities.
I suspect that the Town of Elmira back in the early 1970s ordered both poles for lights in the park as well as for methane vents. The ones on the west side of the creek near the pavillion probably were for lighting both the pedestrian bridge and the pavillion. This one in the picture seems most likely to have been for venting methane. Local witnesses on the west side of the park (Riverside Dr.) state that garbage was not put immediately behind their homes whereas witnesses on the east side (George St.) say that garbage was placed in the park immediately at the back of their property.
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