City’s actions send chill over park

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning StarPublished: January 23, 2009 4:00 PM

A mountain of snow is creating a pile of problems for some dog lovers. People who regularly walk their dogs at BX Ranch Park are shocked that mounds of snow cleared from Vernon roads and parking lots are taking up so much of the 27-acre site on BX Road. “It’s a great wall of Vernon,” said Lynne Johaneson of the snow. Among the concerns is the snow is taking up space that dogs usually use to run and that used to provide distance between the animals so there aren’t conflicts. “I was in among the piles and somebody said, ‘I’ve lost a Great Dane, have you seen it?’ And I had lost a border collie,” said Belinda Stewart. There is also a concern that road-related chemicals could impact the health of dogs if ingested, and nails and other debris has been found among the snow.“All of this stuff could hurt the dogs,” said Nancy Higgitt. There are also fears that the large trucks and front-end loaders dumping the snow are causing physical damage to the park — creating ruts and scraping off the turf. “It’s a despicable way to treat a park. It’s a community park and not a dumping ground,” said Ray Ivey, BX-Swan Lake Community Association president.

“Would this be tolerated in Polson Park? I don’t think so.” BX Creek is nearby and Ivey wonders what the chemicals will do to water quality once the snow melts. “Whatever is put on the streets is here now,” he said, adding that he has taken some snow for testing. Johaneson wants the City of Vernon to stop storing snow at BX Ranch Park. “Why is this the only place they are dumping at?” she said. The city was given permission to use the site by the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee. “They’ve been dumping snow in there for five years,” said Al McNiven, parks and recreation administrator. “This year we’ve had a lot of snow so more has been dumped than in the past.” The snow piles are supposed to be as close to BX Road as possible, but McNiven admits that hasn’t occurred this winter. “It wasn’t done the way it should be done,” said McNiven, who isn’t concerned about potential impact on the creek. “Runoff in the city goes into the storm drains and goes straight into the creeks. At least here, it has to go through the soil and there’s some filtration,” he said.

GVAC did not seek approval from the Ministry of Environment for the city to store snow next to BX Creek. Upset over the situation is Mike Macnabb, BX-Silver Star director. “It’s a bloody mess. It’s blatantly apparent that we’re not helping the park by dumping snow there,” said Macnabb. “I understand there’s an agreement (between the city and GVAC) but it’s public park. To use this park as a snow dump, there’s something wrong with this approach.” Macnabb plans to raise the issue at the next GVAC meeting. Wayne Lippert, Vernon mayor and GVAC chairman, is aware of the residents’ concerns. “We realize melting snow may be a hazard and we are cognizant of it,” he said. However, he says city staff collect garbage at the site and studies have been done on the potential impact of road chemicals on the creek. “To my understanding, it hasn’t been an issue,” he said.