New Vancouver park commissioners set sights on community centres, healthy food
Newly elected park board commissioners intend to have a lot more on their agenda than the contentious topic of cetaceans in captivity.
If the Vancouver Greens’ Michael Wiebe gets his way, concession stands in local parks could soon have healthier and local menu options.
Wiebe, a restaurant owner and first-time park commissioner, said enacting recommendations from the city’s healthy food strategy will be a major focus for him.
“The policy is there, and now we actually have to make sure that the order guides that concessions order from are healthy in choices,” he said in a phone interview.
Wiebe will be one of two Green representatives on the board, along with Stuart Mackinnon, who was a commissioner from 2008 to 2011.
Mackinnon, who said having a colleague on the board will make “all the difference in the world” after serving as a sole representative of his party during his previous term, expects the initial focus of the park board to be on the joint operating agreement with community centre associations.
He thinks a first step to restoring the relationship with community centres‑a goal that chair John Coupar has cited as a priority‑is restoring park commissioner liaison positions to each of the community associations.
“They’ve always been there, but many of the community centres haven’t seen their commissioner liaison for years, and so encouraging the commissioners to have more contact with their liaison community centre associations would go a long way,” Mackinnon told the Straight by phone.
He has already offered to second the motions of lone Vision Vancouver commissioner Catherine Evans in order to get them on the table.
Evans said one issue she plans to watch closely on the now NPA-dominated board is the focus of some of the party’s members on “slightly expensive things”—like an emphasis on flowers and horticulture.
“I’m a gardener so I love flowers, but they are expensive, and there will potentially be some trade-offs there, and that’s something to really keep our eyes on,” she said.
The park board will hold its first meeting of the new year on January 19.
Comments
1 Comments
bill McCreery
Dec 18, 2014 at 9:19pm
I'm surprised that Stuart, normally a more restrained individual, is playing silly politics with the new Visionista on the Board. Was that generosity of spirit returned to him by her former colleagues?
Evans wants to not spend money on what she claims are expensive flowers. I think John Coupar has been talking about more than just the lack of flowers in our parks for the past 3 years. There are something like less than a dozen gardeners left from the Vision regime's staff purge looking after our several hundred parks. That's ludicrous!
Wiebe, apparently her new ally, wants to go green in the concession stands. Well and good, but let's not forget the public likes what he distains, and it makes money. The green food menu will need to be carefully initiated, or the Board will not have the money to pay for any more flowers and a lot of other things.
Maybe the Board might also consider creating family friendly picnic areas adjacent to the concessions, picnic tables, outdoor play areas, splash pools, etc. and adjust the menu to encourage families to bring their kids and maybe some of their own food, as well as what they might buy at the concession. That would support families as well as improve the Park Board's bottom line.
Let's hope this Board passes on the the political games and focuses on serving those who elected them.