A community group planning to build a new park in Bowden is facing a potentially serious obstacle.
A community group planning to build a new park in Bowden is facing a potentially serious obstacle.
Bowden resident Wanda Doncaster-Whalen said she is researching what she would need to do to launch a petition to prevent the Community Action Park committee from building a skateboard park, outdoor ice rink and other playground structures at a green space Bowden council designated for the park near the intersection of 22 Avenue and 21 Street.
Doncaster-Whalen’s home backs on to the west side of the green space and she, along with Tara Lord, another resident whose home is near the park, appeared at Bowden council’s Sept. 9 meeting to voice their concerns about the park concept and to learn more about how the town and the committee would administer the proposed park.
While she told council she is not against a new park in the community, Doncaster-Whalen said she is concerned about the noise that would come from the planned skateboard park included in the committee’s park concept.
"We don’t want to live by a skateboard park," she said, adding that having the skateboard park near her home could affect its resale value due to the noise and the possibility of the park’s users loitering in the area at night and possibly making the green space unsightly if the park isn’t properly cared for.
Doncaster-Whalen asked council if it was planning to set limits on times when the park could be used and if the town and the CAP committee were intending to establish an official agreement outlining maintenance responsibilities for the park.
She said she is currently in contact with Alberta Municipal Affairs to find information on what grounds she could use to start a petition to stop the park from being built because of the effect it could have on her family.
"I would feel badly to put forward a petition and for you to lose your park," she said. "But it’s not my fault."
Ultimately, Doncaster-Whalen said, the main issue is the location of the park.
Coun. Sandy Gamble, who is a member of the CAP committee, said skateboard parks in other nearby communities are not noisy and because of the passion of young people in the community to have the park built, she is confident those young people using the park, as well as their parents, will make sure no one is being too noisy or abusing the park in any way.
She also said the committee will take on the responsibility of maintaining the park and it intends to become a society in order to bring in tax-deductable donations for maintenance costs.
As for time limits for when the park could be used, Gamble said timers will turn lights out at the park at 9 p.m.
And Mayor Robb Stuart said a curfew for the park could be established with a bylaw.
When Doncaster-Whalen asked council why the proposed park could not be located in a green space near the Bowden Igloo arena, Coun. Wayne Milaney told her that green space often fills with water since it used to be a slough.
For that reason, he said, it would not be possible to pour concrete needed for park structures at that green space.
Coun. Patrick Doll added the green space designated for the proposed park was chosen due to its central location and because many young families live in that area.
He also agreed with Gamble that since young people in the community are taking part in making the park concept a reality, they will hopefully take "ownership" of the park and also "police it."
It’s necessary, he said, to give the community "the benefit of the doubt."
A suggestion from Doncaster-Whalen about building berms or planting trees to help block some of the noise coming from the skate park was met with the response that the idea is to keep the park as open as possible so that people in the community can see what’s happening in the park at all times to help prevent inappropriate activities.
Doncaster-Whalen also told council she and a number of other residents living near the park were concerned about the lack of notice given to the community about the park concept, especially in the spring when council agreed to designate the green space for the park.
Gamble said information about the park concept was included in the town’s newsletter but Doncaster-Whalen said she did not receive the newsletter.
Lord said she and others had written letters to the town about the concerns they have about the park but never received the response.
Doll said he did respond with a "generic letter" addressing the concerns and he told Lord he would look into the reasons why his letter never reached her.
Overall, council responded to Doncaster-Whalen’s concerns with the argument that such a park is needed in the community and young people surveyed about what the park should include picked a skate park as their top choice.
Council also pledged to tackle any problems at the park when they come up.
In an interview following the meeting, Andy Weiss, the town’s chief administrative officer, said Doncaster-Whalen would need to have signatures from 10 per cent of Bowden residents who are eligible to vote for her petition to be valid.
If she is successful, he added, the petition could halt the entire park development process.
Council gave its full support to the park concept last month and the committee intends to build some of the first structures at the park on Oct. 26.
The committee learned in July that Let Them Be Kids, a Canadian volunteer organization that helps communities build playgrounds, will match any money the committee raises for playground equipment.
The projected cost of the park is $144,000 and the committee has already raised about $30,000.
Committee chair Keith Bailey, who was at the Sept. 9 council meeting, said some parts of the park, such as the skate park and ice rink, will be built this year and planned future additions include a splash park.
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