Author: CNickA

On February 1, 2024 (this Thursday), Vancouver city councillors Adriane Carr, Christine Boyle, and Pete Fry will host a town-hall meeting at the 1st Floor Joe Wai Room in City Hall from 3 to 6 p.m. The focus will be on Sim’s proposal to eliminate the Park Board, with these councillors advocating for its retention. Registration is required, and the meeting will gather opinions on the Mayor’s move to eliminate the elected Park Board. It will also address questions about the future of parks and recreation facilities in Vancouver. The hosts encourage public input and have invited both current and past Park Board Commissioners to attend and provide insights. Please register to attend (link)

The VGPA is hosting a Candidates Public Forum for the election of the new Park Board Commissioners. Please plan on attending to have your questions answered and to show your support for the continued use of Langara as a Golf Course. 

Where: Langara Golf Course

Date: Wednesday October 5

Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm 

Over the past four years golf has been under attack by Park Board commissioners, with Langara Golf Course dead in their cross-hairs. In this critical moment, it’s crucial that we elect a pro-golf Park Board to ensure the continued use of Langara in its present format.

Vancouver Golf Players Association.

Dear golfers,

This is an emergency! Last night was the first in a series of All Candidates meetings of Park Board Commissioners. Only two golfers showed up to talk to 16 candidates, all of whom were readily available to speak to voters.

In response to a hostile question from the floor, a majority of candidates indicated they were open to repurposing Langara Golf Course for other uses. The exceptions were TEAM, NPA and ABC candidates. Tricia Barker and fellow Team candidates Kumi Kumura and Michelle Mollineaux powerfully defended golf, as did NPA candidates Dave Pasin and Jason Upton. ABC candidates Jas Virdi and Laura Christianson also spoke in golf’s favour.

Incumbents John Irwin and Gwen Giesbrecht continued their drive to reduce Langara to nine holes, with as yet undetermined uses of the remaining area.

It’s evident that most candidates do not have good information or input from golfers. New candidates are receptive to hear from us, but we’re not showing up.

The crucial ask:
Would you commit to attending one or more All Candidates Meetings? By return email, would you let us know which meetings you will attend? We’ll send along a briefing package on golf and land use to help out.

The list of meetings is on the VGPA web site as well as below.

We await your response!

Park Board All Candidates Meetings:

Sept 23: Mount Pleasant Community Centre: 6.30pm, Gym #1 Kingsway @ 7th and Main
Sept 24: TEAM for a Livable Vancouver is hosting a “Meet the Candidates” opportunity at St Pauls Anglican Church, 1.00-3.30pm 1130 Jervis St, Vancouver
Sept 27: West End Community Centre: 6.00-9.00pam, Auditorium, Main Floor 870 Denman St.
Sept 29: Hastings Community Centre: doors Open 6.30pm, 3096 Hasting Street East
Oct 3: Kerrisdale Community Centre: 7-9pm, 5851 West Boulevard.
Oct 12: VBGA (VanDusen Botanical Garden): 7-9 p.m. Need to PreBook.

Opportunities to Meet Park Board Candidates.

Park Board All Candidates Meetings (Links Included)

Sept 23: Mount Pleasant Community Centre: 6.30pm, Gym #1 Kingsway @ 7th and Main

Sept 24: TEAM for a Livable Vancouver is hosting a “Meet the Candidates” opportunity at St Anglican Church, 1.00-3.30pm 1130 Jervis St, Vancouver

Sept 27: West End Community Centre: 6.00-9.00pam, Auditorium, Main Floor 870 Denman St.

Sept 29: Hastings Community Centre: doors Open 6.30pm, 3096 Hasting Street East

Oct 3: Kerrisdale Community Centre: 7-9pm, 5851 West Boulevard.

Oct 12: VBGA (VanDusen Botanical Garden): 7-9 p.m. Need to PreBook, (Click on Link)

Please plan on attending one or more meetings with your questions on repurposing Golf courses.

Park Board All Candidates Meetings (Links Included)

Sept 23: Mount Pleasant Community Centre: 6.30pm, Gym #1 Kingsway @ 7th and Main

Sept 27: West End Community Centre: 6.00-9.00pam, Auditorium, Main Floor 870 Denman St.

Sept 29: Hastings Community Centre: doors Open 6.30pm, 3096 Hasting Street East

Oct 3: Kerrisdale Community Centre: 7-9pm, 5851 West Boulevard.

Oct 12: VBGA (VanDusen Botanical Garden): 7-9 p.m. Need to PreBook, Click on Link

This is an unusual election cycle demonstrated by the lack of “All Candidates” election meetings for Park Board, Mayoral or City Council Candidates. Even worse, with the one exception of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver , none of the Party Web sites have contact information to allow contact with Party Candidates. Read the VGPA web site for Park Board election information ,

A 10 year history (2008 – 2018) shows an average 35% higher rounds than the lower mainland industry average.

In 2020, Park Board golf courses accounted for just 1% of institutional water use, and only .05% of overall water use in the City of Vancouver. Irrigation of Park Board golf courses accounts for 6.4% of the total water used for irrigation across the entire parks and recreation system. In 2020, 56% of all irrigation water used was non-potable, it came sources other than the treated water supply.

The Park Board Administration recommended an across the board 3% increase in 2022 all user fees. Despite 2022 budgeted record profits from golf and a moratorium on non essential maintenance to the golf courses a motion by Commissioner Irwin arbitrarily increased the golf fees by 5%

MOVED by Commissioner Irwin
SECONDED by Commissioner Giesbrecht

THAT the Vancouver Park Board approve changes to the 2022 Fees and Charges, as summarized in the body of this report and detailed in Appendix A, including a 5% increase on 18-hole golf.

CARRIED
In favour: Demers, Dumont, Giesbrecht, Irwin, Mackinnon
Opposed: Coupar

The Park Board Commissioners recently passed a resolution to study golf course usage and the potential repurposing of the land. Attached to the resolution is a motion to defer planned upgrades to the three courses until such time as the study is completed and adopted, effectively preventing course upgrades indefinitely. The upgrades would have been paid from the Golf Reserve.