Ask the candidates
MUNICIPAL POLITICS What would you do to increase the stock of park land in Penticton?
QUESTION: What would you do to increase the stock of park land in Penticton?
JOHN ARCHER: In order to increase the stock of park land, I think the City needs to look first at acquiring land adjacent to present parks to expand them. The City also needs to look at its inventory of unused land to see where new parks could be developed. All developers need to do their part in the development of parks and pay their related charges. Local, provincial and federal grants should be sought to finance such plans for new parks. Community groups and businesses should form partnerships to cost share in development. DUFFY BAKER: Did not reply. JULIUS BLOOMFIELD: There are some fabulous opportunities to create some world class park areas in outlying areas of the city. One only has to look at the Poplar Grove bike park on Naramata Road and the Skaha Bluffs to see that destination parks for high-activity recreation have become very popular. With land so scarce in the city it is imperative we build bridges of trust with all our neighbours to fully realize the potential of the area.
KAREN BROWNLEE: Penticton has many beautiful parks and walking paths in existence. We live in a veritable park all year long. We only need to be on the same page in securing this is not sold or leased to be anything other than park land.
GLENN CLARK: Let’s not put buildings on park land anymore. I would work with all parties to make Campbell Mountain a Penticton park oriented to multi-users. This would allow Penticton to achieve the muchneeded park percentage with a minimal overhead to maintain this natural park. Championed by the local bike and hiking community, tourism would flourish with users from all over looking down on our beautiful city. There is even room for dirt bikers on a designated area on the backside. The large open fields in the back would act as fire barriers when not in use for recreation. Win, win!
DARYL CLARKE: The new Parks and Rec plan will protect what we already have. Moving into the future we have an opportunity with the new OCP to design new modern neighbourhoods with people in mind. We need to incorporate parks transportation and other amenities into our future neighbourhoods at the development stage — not add them piece meal at the end of the process. We must also make sure the monies already collected from developers go to where it is intended and not just into general revenues.
CHRISTOPHER EVASIN: Recent history has proven that anything to do with parkland expansion or creation in Penticton needs public input from the very early stages. I would work with local environmental and city groups to plan future park-land sites, and I would continue to work hard with these same groups to save and enhance the park land we already have. JOE FROCKLAGE: Did not reply. ISAAC GILBERT: Moving forward with the Official Community Plan, I believe they will be adding more smaller parks to the city. I want to see parks created adapt to the growth of the city. When there is infill coming into a neighbourhood I want that be accompanied by a park for people to enjoy. We have a Parks and Recreation plan supporting and enhancing the plan will help us bring more green spaces to Penticton.
LYNN KELSEY: Developers putting in new developments must put in appropriate parks space. There are some large empty lots that have remained empty lots for years. These could be made into inviting green space and parks. Our master parks plan will give guidance to park maintenance and growth.
JAKE KIMBERLEY: Increase the park land is one of my objectives when elected. That was the result of the two-year study the City did following the Skaha Park shameful decision, the attempt to take away! Park land as we all know is and has been paid for through property taxes, developed and maintained through property taxes. That is and still is public property, therefore the public should have a referendum on the use of that public land. Many thanks to to the dedicated committee I had the pleasure of working for the last three years and all those who supported SSP campaign. The result of the city study was conclusive, the city’s present, emphasize present, population is short on parkland even with our present population.
JESSE MARTIN: I don’t think we can put a price on park land. There are so many health benefits to being in nature it’s impossible to put a price tag on it. One thing I believe would raise the value of Skaha Lake Park would be a large, public fishing dock. Fishing is a great outdoor activity that can be enjoyed at any age, by families and single people alike, but there aren’t many easy fishing spots near Penticton. West Kelowna has a fenced off bay that is stocked with trout for youth and seniors to fish and it’s wildly popular. We could easily put one on Skaha.
DOUG MAXWELL: Park land! First, let’s complete the creek walkway all the way to the top. There is a large gap right now and it is a great asset in our city. Second, we need to restart a fund of money so we can expand park land as space comes available. This was dropped by previous councils along the way. An inventory of city-owned land should show us where adjacent property should be targeted. It was suggested to me recently that a playground in a corner of Gyro or Okanagan Park would be an asset.
CHRISTOPHER MILLIN: I will promote higher-quality green spaces by doing my part to ensure city park workers’ needs are provided. Proper upkeep is the most important aspect of keeping green spaces desirable in Penticton. I will encourage and vote for financially responsible improvements and expansions of green space wherever possible.
DAVID O’BRIEN: The City of Penticton is $37 million dollars in debt. It would be a much more responsible choice to temporarily delay new park acquisitions.
MAX PICTON: One of the areas that I would like to focus on if re-elected, is on improved access and expansion of our recreational trail networks in the area. I believe that Penticton is blessed with hundreds of kilometers of park land surrounding us in every direction and that a focus needs to be made to improve the accessibility of these areas for our residents.
MARIE PRIOR: It is difficult to add to our stock of park land, partly due to commercial and residential development. The only areas we could expand are the riparian areas for public use, such as walking trails, and seating areas, although other government controls of the riparian areas exist. These would have to be negotiated with the governing bodies. Purchase and/or develop current unused areas around the lakes.
KEVIN PROTEAU: Start swapping city owned properties into the market and use the funds to continue developing parks and recreation opportunities in the city. The northeast sector has a noticeable deficit, which the city is attempting to fill with Three Blind Mice and Campbell Mountain; and that’s a great start, but we also need upgrades to allow for more access to the lake.
FRANK REGEHR: Increasing the stock of park land in Penticton will require allocating predictable and adequate funding for park acquisition in strategically-located areas. Without such a fund, Penticton will continue to miss good opportunities to acquire new parks as appropriate sites become available. One use of Development Cost Charges collected on new construction is the purchase and improvement of park land. Penticton’s DCC charges for parks are a small fraction of what is charged in other Okanagan cities. Developing recommendations to Council to initiate and implement this initiative and funding sources should be a priority task for the City Manager and senior staff.
KATIE ROBINSON: For starters, I would follow our OCP that earmarked (for example) the property on Kinney Avenue for over 25 years as future park land only to be out-voted and rezoned for a developer to build another highrise instead of the park I fought for. My record stands for itself when I sat on the Council that actually bought back privately owned land (Coburn property) to increase access to Skaha Lake and the surrounding Skaha Lake Park.
CONNIE SAHLMARK: First, use parks to remediate brown fields. Trees and plants effectively clean the soil. Not all these would be suitable immediately for use but would add to the City’s aesthetic. Secondly, encourage cluster neighbourhoods that back onto a large shared green space. It’s beautiful and encourages social interaction.
DARYL SANDERS: That would take a lot of pondering. I was always told land is a good investment as they are not making any more of it. I think this would be a good topic to have the new council discuss as seven heads will have a better chance of working together for a solution. Unfortunately this is a question I could not answer at this time and I feel it’s better to admit when you don’t have the answer rather than to make something up.
JUDY SENTES: Perhaps the concept of more parks could include a focus on smaller “pocket parks” to create more green spaces within neighbourhoods both new and transitioning. It might be interesting to engage with the community regarding the possibility of a donation of private land to the City for that very purpose.
CAMPBELL WATT: I think with such a limited amount of space in our city, the top priority should be to protect and enhance our existing parkland stock. Beyond that, I would like to see the City purchase appropriate properties as they become available in order to increase the amount of park land.
Coming Tuesday - Friday: Questions for the School District 67 candidates.