BARRHEAD- Wheeled sports enthusiasts such as skateboarders and BMXers are that much closer to being able to practice their sport after Town of Barrhead councillors unanimously approved the site of the municipality's All-Wheel park at their June 22 meeting.
Councillors unanimously approved a municipally-owned property near the old Champion Feeds building on the east side of 50th Avenue between 55 A Street and 56 Street south of Highway 18.
The estimated $800,000 has been set aside in the 2021 Capital Budget for the park, coming from Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) grant.
Mayor Dave McKenzie said council needs to select the location of the park so that they could proceed with the project once the consultation stage was complete.
Coun. Don Smith said he believed they still needed to negotiate details with the owners of adjacent properties.
"I did not realize it was a done deal. We haven't allocated any other property next to the one that we own. If we do not, will the all-wheel park and what we have planned fit in those confines?"
McKenzie said the administration arranged a presentation on the topic several months ago.
"What we were told is that in a town our size for a skateboard/all-wheel, we need about 10,000 square feet and that the property discussed would more than adequately meet our needs," he said, adding the lot is approximately 40,000 square feet.
Chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc agreed, noting parks and recreation confirmed the space is adequate.
McKenzie added that by not being able to publicize the location of the park, they were also potentially hindering their public consultation efforts.
Due to the pandemic and not having the ability to hold public information sessions to get input from residents, especially the municipality opted for a survey, where respondents could select the features they would most like to see in the park.
Councillors approved the survey during their June 10 meeting. The survey is on the town's website, www.barrhead.ca. The deadline to respond is July 30.
Coun. Leslie Penny asked if residents adjacent to the future all-wheel park will be informed, giving them a chance to voice their support or objection, as they would for any other development.
McKenzie said yes, but doubted there would be any objection.
"I can't think of a better location. The infringement on any residences or commercial properties would be minimal while still having a central location," he said.
After the meeting, McKenzie said an all-wheel park has been on this and previous councils' radar.
"We decided we needed to move forward. We've been talking about it long enough and that it had moved up to the top of our priority list, at least in for recreation amenities," he said, adding the first step was to purchase the appropriate land, something that was done about two years ago. "Then we needed to get the funding formula down ... it is only now that we are finally in the position where we can begin work on the project."
McKenzie added that while council has had several discussions about the project, most of them have been out of the public eye, noting the only hint residents would have had that the project was in the works would have been as part of the this year's Capital Budget. As such, they did not want to go public until "they had more of their ducks in a row."
"We are at that point now, people are going to start hearing more about it in the next six months," he said, including potential other amenities that go hand-in-hand with an all-wheel park. "We are hoping to make it one of those iconic features that draw people in from other communities."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
