Strong management plan urged for Harper Park
Dylan Radcliffe said he was walking in Harper Park a few weeks ago when it was all aflutter with Monarch butterflies,
“The Monarch migration was in full swing,” he recalled, walking through the park on Tuesday. “It was amazing.”
Radcliffe, a water resources technician, is one of many citizens who care about the park.
Harper Park is a 148-acre natural park in the south-west end of the city, at The Parkway and Highway 7/115. It has a provincially significant wetland, cold water fisheries and a brook trout population.
It’s right near the site for the new casino, on Crawford Dr. at The Parkway; the casino is now under construction. On Monday, city councillors voted to seek competitive bids from firms interested in developing a plan for the future of Harper Park - not simply pick Beacon Environmental, as recommended by city staff.
“I think that’s reasonable,” Radcliffe said Tuesday. “It’s a good first step toward coming to a management plan for the park.”
Beacon Environmental served as the city’s environmental adviser as the operator for the casino sought planning approvals from the city.
City staff had recommended using that firm to review environmental policies in the Official Plan and also develop a plan specific to Harper Park; the cost would have been $225,000.
A city staff report stated that’s because the firm already has knowledge of the park and can build on past work there.
But Coun. Keith Riel wasn’t comfortable with the plan; he suggested going to an RFP for the plan on Harper Park.
That splits the contract in half; Beacon would still get the job of reviewing the OP policies, for roughly $112,000. Then bids would be solicited for the Harper Park plan (which would also cost the city roughly another $112,000).
Beacon would be free to bid on the Harper Park plan and Coun. Lesley Parnell pointed out it might well be awarded both contracts.
Councillors gave preliminary approval to the plan Monday. It needs to be ratified before city council Oct. 2. Citizens can speak up before that vote.
It’s a good idea to have a management plan for the park, Radcliffe said – he mentioned a brook trout study being carried out by Trent University.
“There’s also such a wide array of citizen science projects taking place here,” Radcliffe said.
It’s worth studying the brook trout in the park in addition to the birds, plants and “general ecology,” he said. “It’s a beautiful space.”