With plans for a sports complex dashed, politicians and sports groups are left picking up the pieces. Coldstream council voted 4-3 Tuesday not to forward an application for 118 acres on Aberdeen Road to the Agricultural Land Commission, but sports enthusiasts insist the need for a sports complex won’t go away. “This is far from the end of the issue,” said Bill Tarr, spokesman for the Greater Vernon Outdoor Sports Users Group. Tarr insists there is a need for increased facilities for youth and adults, and sports groups will immediately contact the Greater Vernon Services Commission to pursue options. “The next appropriate site may be north of Kin Race Track,” he said. Rick Dubois, Funtastic president, points out that both those for and against using the Aberdeen Road site agreed there is a need for sports fields for youth. “The people who don’t want it in their backyards can help us find a location,” he said.
The Coldstream Ratepayers Association — which wanted to keep the Aberdeen Road site as agricultural — has committed to
try and meet the needs of youth. “I’m waiting for an invitation to work with them. I have some ideas,” said president Andy Danyliu, who suggests forming a task force to try and secure a long-term lease for the playing fields at the Vernon Army Camp. Gary Corner, GVSC chairman, admits council’s decision severely impacts the agency’s long-term strategy. “We have to somehow figure out how to get around this,” he said . Corner, who is also Coldstream’s mayor, believes any other potential locations for a sports complex will involve farm land in Greater Vernon.The vote had Corner and Councillors Carol Williams and Glen Taylor wanting to send the application to the ALC, but Councillors Bill Firman, Jim Garlick, Doug Dirk and Mary Malerby were opposed. Malerby says she based her decision on input she received from residents. “I didn’t run to be a representative of my feelings. I ran to represent the citizens of Coldstream,” she said. Firman was adamant that the complex went against everything residents told the district about planning. “There is no plan in our official community plan to build a sports complex on agricultural land. They (residents) tell us to preserve green space,” he said. But Taylor pointed out that Greater Vernon’s master parks plan identified the need for a sports complex. ‘We have to have a vision and look down the road,” he said. That was also the view of Williams. “If we don’t grasp this opportunity, it will be unfortunate for Coldstream, our kids and economic development. This community needs to grow,” she said.
Tarr is unwilling to slam the process council followed. “It was a good process and the public got its opinion out. I have no problem with it (decision) because it is valuable farm land,” he said. Danyliu obviously was pleased with the outcome of the council vote. “It was the right decision. It was a visionary decision. It reflected the vast wishes of Coldstream residents,” he said. Also on Thursday, council unanimously agreed to send an application to the ALC to have 20 acres of the Grey Canal turned into trails. The land is currently owned by Coldstream Ranch.
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Editorial Sep 14 2007 Public must remain focused
Some Coldstream residents may want to stick their heads in the sand and think that council’s decision Tuesday was the end of debate. But the reality is that the need for sports facilities isn’t going anywhere, and the issue will continue to dominate the agenda. There was substantial indication that there is a shortage of adequate facilities for athletes, both adult and youth, and that the Coldstream community is impacted the worst. A lack of proper fields there has parents and children driving constantly into Vernon. But while there were a lot of harsh comments made on both sides of the matter, there is a need to get past that and to work together. Some of the most vocal opponents to a sports complex on Aberdeen Road stated they would support facilities directed towards youth and would even work towards that effort. We would hope those weren’t just hollow words said to get what they wanted out of council, but that they are truly interested in the future of children in Greater Vernon.
The Greater Vernon Services Committee immediately needs to launch a
process that will ultimately identify a suitable site for a sports complex and work towards acquiring it. The defeat of its plans Tuesday shouldn’t mean GVSC is sidetracked forever. But to be successful the next time around, the process needs to be more transparent and representative of the community. Beyond bureaucrats and politicians, planning must involve sports organizations and residents who expressed concerns about the previous project. Without addressing those concerns, history is deemed to repeat itself. There is an opportunity to move ahead for the betterment of Greater Vernon, but we must all be on the same team.
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