Recent comments from Greater Vernon Services Committee chairman Gary Corner would be laughable if they weren’t so concerning.
After the committee filed a letter about the proposed Aberdeen Road sports complex, Corner said, “The problem we have is this really isn’t a GVSC issue right now.”
Not a GVSC issue right now?
Isn’t it the committee that has offered to purchase the land from Coldstream Ranch? And isn’t it GVSC seeking a land use change from the Agricultural Land Commission?
It should also be pointed out that the District of Coldstream is only considering a referral to the ALC because it has been asked to – once again by GVSC.
It’s increasingly obvious there’s a significant need for additional sports facilities and the Aberdeen Road site is a suitable location because of its proximity to existing Coldstream and Vernon neighbourhoods.*
But that said, why is GVSC hiding from very legitimate questions about the proposal? As an example, the letter filed by the board dealt with overall costs and alternate sites.
And these questions will continue to persist unless GVSC politicians and staff deal with them head-on. With full information out there – including about the complex design – perhaps public support would grow.
Being transparent would also counter some of the misinformation coming from opposition forces.
In the end, GVSC initiated the entire sports complex process and it’s time to do the right thing and take ownership for the issue.
"Baseball/softball:*Basically, the Editorial is excellent. However, I take exception to the statement: "It’s increasingly obvious there’s a significant need for additional sports facilities".
Why is it that nobody reads the Master Parks Plan? Before such statement is made you should read that plan for which we spent good dollars. To ease your workload, here are some important excerpts:
"Vernon has a softball diamond supply of 1/2,116 population, a very high supply. The baseball Diamond supply is 1/5,080 population. This is also a large number of fields for the size of the Community. An analysis was conducted of field use in relation to capacity. Using a conservative Estimate of capacity (Monday to Saturday week, Saturday based on 9 to 3 PM only, 2 hour blocks for Ball games, one block per weekday evening for fields without lights, 2 blocks for fields with lights), the Field use in relation to capacity is 55% for school fields, and 75% for fields in parks.
Soccer etc:
"Vernon has a total of 51 sports fields. These are used primarily for soccer, but other uses include football, rugby, field lacrosse, track and field, fly fishing practice, grass volleyball, Special Olympics, and ultimate (Frisbee). The following is a summary of the supply of sports fields:......page 40...
Vernon has a sports field supply of 1/996 population. This is a very high standard of supply. An analysis was conducted of field use in relation to capacity. Using a conservative estimate of capacity (Monday to Saturday week, Saturday based on 9 to 3 PM only, 1½ hr blocks for soccer, one block per weekday evening), the field use in relation to capacity is 43% for school fields, and 73% for fields in Parks.
The North Okanagan Youth Soccer Association (NOYSA) is the primary user of sports fields. With about 2000 members in the 2003 season, membership is stable and their season of use is April to November. The NOYSA uses all park and school fields except ones that are in poor condition. They host 3 tournaments per year. There are also men’s and women’s soccer leagues in the community. There are several important trends occurring in soccer. One is a move towards artificial turf, which can sustain much higher levels of play year-round, and many B.C. Communities now have or are developing such fields. Another is indoor artificial turf practice facilities, e.G., Western Indoor Soccer, Burnaby. These are very popular for training. The third factor is the hiring of full time soccer development coordinators to improve the sport. These factors are leading to a more active soccer community and worn, over-utilized fields.
The other groups that use sports fields include: senior men's’ rugby, minor football, high school football, field lacrosse, track and field, fly fishing practice, grass volleyball, Special Olympics, and ultimate (Frisbee). Ultimate is a relatively new activity. With just over 50 regular members in the Greater Vernon area, the league hosted a major weekend tournament in recent years, and also hosts several smaller tournaments annually." page 41.
Unless you can contradict those figures presented by the Consultant you are publishing false information and deceiving the public. Please retract those falsehoods!
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