OLDS — Damage and graffiti at the skateboard park as well as poor drainage in Kiwanis Park along 56th Street are two issues highlighted by parks supervisor Gillian Campbell.
During a presentation to council last month, Campbell said town staff plan to make repairs to the skateboard park later this spring.
Coun. Debbie Bennett said graffiti is a “huge problem to the community, to staff, to all of us.”
She wondered if the town could install "a decent number” of more security cameras and lighting “so that we have a good picture of who might be doing the graffiti.”
“I think this has been a long time needed and everyone is getting quite sick and tired of graffiti and having to remove it and trying to catch who’s done it,” Bennett said.
"I know our budgets are very tight for 2021 and I hope that we can find some money to get security cameras and video in place.”
Campbell said the drainage problem at Kiwanis Park appears to be the result of low ground levels.
When the ground gets wet, staff have to wait for it to dry up. However, by the time that happens, the grass is thick and tall and that results in extra work for staff.
Coun. Mitch Thomson wondered if town employees could come up with an “innovative solution” to tackle that problem.
“We’ll have to have a good look at that,” operations director Scott Chant said.
He noted the park is surrounded by nearby homes.
“There is a storm system there. Can we put a catch basin in to capture that? Or does it become a bigger issue and we have to rebuild the entire area, then build it up and make sure that we don’t put drainage back on to these properties,” he asked.
“But yes, when you put a flat piece of land surrounded by homes, it can create that problem in the future.”
During her presentation, Campbell also showed a few slides highlighting how town staff had revitalized old wooden signs and maintained town barricades that are used for barricades and other occasions.
Bennett was pleased to see that.
“I believe what we own as a town we must maintain. The sign and barricade projects are often put on the back burner in many municipalities. But when you see the results of a project well done, it looks fabulous, so thank you for those," Bennett said.
