Whose Best Interest?

(This letter was published in the Bowen Island Undercurrent newspaper, but was shortened by the editors. Therefore the whole letter is published, here.)

The decision to go ahead with artificial turf field has become a face-saving effort for the parties involved: a school-board who sees $500,000 added to their facilities for free; a school principal who wants to leave his mark; a community services manager and hired consultant, both heavily involved in the local soccer-club, pursuing the option that seems to benefit the soccer club most; a soccer club that aggressively campaigns for the field with some if its members not scaring away from demonizing and insulting critics; and last but not least, a municipal council that didn’t provide proper criteria, not until the very last phase of the project, when it was to late.

We are now adding $375,000 dollars to a joint use agreement of the school facilities, when currently the community cannot use the change-rooms at the gym because BICS has unilaterally decided to use them as storage rooms.

But this is not the only reason why doing this project was iffy from the get go.

To pursue the $125,000 School Community Connections grant without a strategic plan in place, in this case a Bowen Island Recreation Plan, was risky. Yet council didn’t demand it and prioritized the funds for the field regardless, denying more pressing community recreation needs of these funds. After all the $375,000 (from $200,000 in 2007!) can only be spent once. As could be expected, getting the grant became a goal in itself. The risk of creating a rift in the community was taken for granted. The rift is there now, is not going away soon and will become deeper once the trees start falling.

With the trees gone, in summer, the already hot play ground, will be robbed of its shade The new field will only add to the high temperature, making the play ground a no-go zone. A situation only to become worse with rising global temperatures.

So much for joint use by the community. So much for the best interest of our children. And the unanimous tax payer? They can cough up maintenance and replacement costs of the field and pay for use of the field if they choose to do so.

The long overdue recreation strategic plan is due for some time this year. I would almost say, why bother? The damage is already done. It might be better to create a strategic plan to bring this community back together again before thinking about recreation.

Anton van Walraven