After eight months of presentations, discussion and debate, District of Squamish council finally reached a verdict this week on how to allocate the remaining $610,000 of Sports Legacy Funds. The Squamish Soccer Association will receive $500,000 and the backers of the Sports Legacy Park will receive $110,000 for their proposal.
The decision was made at Tuesday's (June 14) Committee of the Whole meeting and the main debate was whether to split the money three ways and give no one what they wanted, or give the entire amount to one project.
"I would like to see all three facilities in our community but I'm concerned about giving them bits and pieces," Coun. Rob Kirkham said, adding that he didn't know what the reaction would be to that decision.
"I don't know whether this [bits and pieces] is going to help the proponents at all - it could do more harm than good."
Coun. Doug Race reiterated the views he expressed at the last Legacy Fund discussion on May 24, when he said he wanted to allocate $260,000 to the mountain bike skills park and $350,000 to the Sports Legacy Park.
On Tuesday, he said turfing the fields wasn't a smart spending decision, not unlike building the Adventure Centre.
"I really don't feel the artificial turf is a Legacy Fund issue because it's so much bigger than the fund, it overwhelms that fund," he said.
"To take Legacy Fund money to put towards this is like going out and buying someone hub caps and telling them to go out and buy a car."
Race argued that two viable and community-enhancing projects could be completed for the price of partially funding one project. He said he thought turfing the soccer fields should be included in the context of the recreation master plan, to be completed in fall 2012.
"This is not a popularity contest here - it's not which sport is better than the others. It's a funding issue and I don't know how we can make that decision logically right now."
Race said he felt the soccer fields would be turfed at some point in the future if they were deemed a priority.
Coun. Corinne Lonsdale said she was confident the turf soccer field was a priority.
"When we talk about Nordic centres and grooming athletes for the Olympics, that's a big thing. When we're talking about the soccer we're talking about our youth actually competing with others in our own area - right now we can't do that with the facilities we have," she said.
Lonsdale said she didn't share Race's concerns about funding because coupling borrowing and grants completed most significant district infrastructure projects.
In response to Race's comment, Coun. Paul Lalli said he thought there was a certain degree of certainty about a large portion of the necessary funds and reiterated his support for the proposal.
"I think the soccer field is a high priority," he said.
"The soccer association did say that they have $100,000 they want to commit to this proposal and that is a huge commitment from a volunteer group. As well as the fact that we put aside $400,000 in 2011 for a capital project."
Coun. Rob Kirkham said he supported giving the remaining $610,000 to the soccer field.
"I am completely in favour of setting aside the full remaining amount for the soccer fields and I would like to do that," he said.
"The other two projects, both of them are new entities, new programs, new facilities, new audiences and untried, unproven. Soccer is a huge part of our history and a huge part of our athletic outdoor activity for our youth in the past, today and will be going forward."
He added that he felt turfing the fields was completing a job the district started years ago.
"In my mind we're halfway through that project," Kirkham said.
"We put those fields in place because they're needed and we haven't finished the job. The surface and the condition of them is harmful to kids to be running and playing on as they are right now - so I think putting the artificial turf on top is completing a job we're halfway through."
Coun. Bryan Raiser said he supported all three projects and wanted to continue the trend of helping a bit here and there, but was irked by Kirkham's comments.
"As for the comment that Nordic sports and mountain biking are untried and unproven - that is completely untrue," he said. "Nordic sports have been around forever and nobody can say mountain biking in this community is not important."
Coun. Patricia Heintzman said she would like to some money go toward the bike park but give the majority of the money to the soccer fields.
Raiser's motion to allocate $210,000 to the mountain bike skills park, $100,000 to the sports park and $300,000 to the soccer field failed with everyone but Raiser opposed it.
Kirkham said he was against dividing up the money because then he felt council "wasn't supporting any of the projects - it's giving insufficient funds to all of them" and Lonsdale agreed.
Mayor Greg Gardner said he thought the lion's share should be allocated to the soccer fields and a portion should go to the sports park.
"In terms of benefit to the community and the number of users, I think the soccer fields are a very worthwhile project for the community and us to support," he said.
"The number of residents who would utilize the sports park is relatively small, but a very quickly growing part of the community."
Raiser asked Gardner why he assumed there was no support for the mountain bike skills park.
"I think mountain biking will thrive in this community even if that park isn't built," said Gardner, "whereas I don't think Nordic sports will, and youth soccer might be subdued without these fields."
Lalli made a motion to allocate $500,000 to the soccer field and $110,000 to the sports park.
"I've been a big supporter of the soccer all along," he said. "I'm very confident the proposal will get done.
"But we do have to look at embracing the new sports as they develop and want to look at how hard CWSC [the Callaghan Winter Sports Club, which put forward the Sports Legacy Park proposal] and Nordic facility worked at getting this funding."
Lonsdale questioned giving the sports park proposal such a small fraction of what was requested. CWSC asked for $375,000.
"Is $110,000 a kicker or is it a letter of support? What will that $110,000 do to get a project off the ground?" asked Lonsdale.
No one seconded Raiser's motion to make a friendly amendment and allocate $410,000 to the soccer field, $100,000 to the mountain bike skills park and $100,000 to the sports park.
Race said he thought $100,000 could make a lot more difference to either the sports park or the mountain bike skills park.
He proposed a friendly amendment to allocate $410,000 to the soccer fields and $200,000 to the sports park. The amendment failed with Lalli, Gardner, Lonsdale and Kirkham opposed.
Lalli's original motion was carried with Race, Raiser and Lonsdale opposed.
