Orleans Weekly Journal
Published: Friday, December 5, 2008

Playing the game at budget time

As the public delegations – over 250 of them – appeared before city council over four straight days this week urging the city not to cut this program or that service, the Cardinal Creek Community Association (CCCA) which straddles the Trim Road corridor from Watters to Innes was taking matters into its own hands … in a very positive way.

A welcome news release from CCCA president J-F Claude landed in my e-mail account on Monday announcing their plans to open a new outdoor rink at Valin Park, courtesy of $4,200 in hard cash and in-kind sponsorships from local builders Richcraft and Ashcroft along with BMR/Builder’s Warehouse and Orléans Boat World. This is community leadership in action at all levels.

However, the association’s plans to open this new rink along with its plans to maintain its puddle rink at Cassia Park still don’t deal with the funding inequity down at City Hall. The problem is one of institutional bias and the changing demographics and growth patterns of our city.

CCCA past president Sean Crossan presented before council this week and noted that there are more than 50 outdoor rinks maintained by city staff. Many of these rinks are in older, closer to the core established communities. However, their demographic mix is one of older residents as opposed to the very young, family-oriented suburbs like Orléans, or Riverside South or growing sub-divisions in West Kanata or South Barrhaven.

And this problem is also compounded in some of these same older neighbourhoods as local community groups get their community grant of $4K to operate an outdoor rink while neighbourhoods like those served by the CCCA struggle then innovate to find corporate sponsors, for example.

To be fair, the city’s outdoor rink program leverages by a factor of five the economic contribution provided by the city. And community ownership of and participation in programming is a positive way to build stronger community ties. I agree with the CCCA that the city should transfer all of its outdoor rinks to community based organizations. Where the need is truly there, it will be filled … where it is not, other arrangements can be made.

And the city should go further and take the next year to 18 months to assess and re-evaluate its broad parks and recreation portfolio to ensure it is meeting the needs of growing communities, respecting a sustainable base for established communities and re-allocating resources to programming levels appropriate to communities with changing age and income demographics.

The CCCA’s efforts have proved that you don’t have to fight city hall. You can work with local councillors, constructively make improvement suggestions and in fact shape debate, frame and change programming policy and in the long run, make our community one which is more vibrant and yes, a better place to live, work, and of course, play. Game on.

= = = = =

Comments can be sent to Walter Robinson at orleansouttakes@transcontinental.ca.