The Vancouver Park Board is set to vote on a motion aimed at modernizing its mandate and safeguarding its future.
It comes more than nine months after Vancouver city council passed a motion to dissolve the board and absorb its responsibilities into city hall.
Park board chair Brennan Bastyovanszky says he has still seen no plan from the mayor and says action needs to be taken to deliver better service and engage with the community.
“There’s been no public minutes from the transition team, there’s been no plan put together,” he said.
“And the political reasons the mayor gave about where the millions of dollars in savings come from, that also came back for the city that there are no savings to be made.”
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Bastyovanszky added that the park commissioners want to engage with the public over the board’s future.
The motion, scheduled to be heard on Monday, calls for the board to remain a democratically elected body.
It also directs staff to work with the city to secure a new funding formula, to improve facility maintenance, and to reclassify parks considered “temporary” to permanent.
It also seeks to provide protection for green spaces against development.
Council voted to dissolve the park board last December citing neglected facilities, red tape and countless pilot programs.
“You have two groups accountable for the same thing, no one’s accountable and what we’re seeing is things are falling through the cracks, things are taking way too long,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said at the time.
The city sees areas of duplication with the park board, including seawall management, filming and special events permitting.
City council also sets the budget and approves the capital plan for the park board, but the board’s elected commissioners are responsible for the care of around 250 parks, beaches, community centres, marinas, golf courses and other facilities.
The Vancouver Park Board is 134 years old, and its elimination still requires approval from the province.
If re-elected, BC NDP Leader David Eby has said his government will scrap the board, while BC Conservative Leader John Rustad has called for a referendum on the board’s future.
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