BARRHEAD- The Town of Barrhead and the Barrhead CARES Coalition wants to know what residents, especially youth, would like to see in a possible "all-wheel" park.
That is why they are in the process of creating a survey to find out what wheeled sports enthusiasts would like to see as a potential replacement for the town's skateboard park.
Cares member Kyle Hughes presented the survey to councillors during their June 10 meeting.
Council passed the presentation as information. Hughes expected to have the survey ready for distribution by the end of the week. The deadline for the completion is tentatively set for July 31.
"[Mayor McKenzie] asked, through CARES, if there was a way to engage youth, letting them know that the municipality is investigating the possibilities for an all-wheel park, as well as to get their feedback on what type of features they would like to see," he said. "It is also about letting them know that council has heard their calls for more entertainment."
Hughes said it would also help councillors and administration to make informed choices in future discussions with contractors when the council decides to proceed with such a facility.
The survey, which is 99 per cent complete, was created as an editable PDF form and can be embedded within a website, downloaded or e-mailed. For those without Internet access, hard copies will also be available.
"[The survey] includes several common wheel park elements," Hughes said, adding each element has a fictional monetary amount attached to it.
"People can add as many elements as they wish, but they have to stay within their [$65,000] budget."
After choosing the elements in their park, users are asked to highlight the three elements that they feel are the most important or favourite.
For those not familiar with wheel park terminology, each item includes a brief description of what it is along with a picture.
Hughes reiterated that the monetary values do not represent the true cost of construction.
"[The prices] are designed to show people the level of difficulty in constructing a specific piece," he said, noting the most "expensive elements" are listed first. "So if you want a pump track, you have to be prepared to have less overall in your park."
A pump track is a wheel park component, that if ridden properly, does not require pedalling or pushing, but a “pumping” action to maintain momentum.
Although the survey does not ask for any personal information, other than a first name and what age range they fall in, it does ask that they include their e-mail address. Hughes noted this is optional, but he decided to ask for it, so council or town staff could update them on the project or ask for additional feedback.
"[Having an e-mail] also gives us access to a pool of interested people that we can draw upon for fundraising and be the ambassadors for an all-wheel park, to help legitimize the activity in the community," interjected McKenzie.
Coun. Dausen Kluin asked if they could circulate the survey to adults, adding he knows several people his age that use the current skateboard park and would love to get involved in such a project.
Hughes and McKenzie agreed, noting although the survey started as a CARES youth project and all-wheel parks users are generally youth, the survey will be open to everyone.
Coun. Ty Assaf suggested that the prices of the elements should more realistically reflect the costs associated with the municipality constructing the park, saying residents could be in for quite a sticker shock if the price for what they want comes in at well above the survey's $65,000 cap.
Chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc said he understood the cost of the items in the survey were in the ballpark.
"They are estimated budgetary figures compared to just fictitious. They were figures that we received from a contractor," he said.
Hughes said there were just too many variables to come up with what he considered to be realistic.
"After talking with a few production and design companies, they told me in terms of how we were trying to present it was a two-dimensional side of a three-dimensional problem," he said. "Square footage, what kind of ground and the type of materials that can or cannot be used can cause the costs to vary widely. The more expensive materials listed in the survey are more expensive in real life as are the cheaper materials."
Coun. Don Smith agreed with Assaf, saying transparency was important, but instead of having the figures in a survey reflect the actual costs of building an all-wheel park, there were other ways to disclose the costs involved.
"Part of the package can be what council has budgeted for an all-wheels park for our community," he said, adding this was a facility that would benefit the community for many years.
After further discussion, councillors decided that it was OK to use the amounts listed in the survey and add a disclaimer noting that they did not reflect actual costs.
After the meeting, the Barrhead Leader asked administration if an all-wheel park was included in the 10-year capital plan and how much was allocated for it.
Chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc said $800,000 is in this year’s capital budget, but said more than likely the amount would be forwarded to the 2022 capital budget.
“Council is committed to this project but it will take some time to complete all the steps. Step 1 is consultation. Once we get formal direction from council we can move forward and get formal tenders for the project,” he said.
LeBlanc said the location of the park has been tentatively set, but it will not be made public until council makes their final decision.
Earlier in the meeting, McKenzie noted that normally part of the consultation process would have included public information and open house sessions, but COVID public health restrictions made that difficult.
The discussion then moved to the timetable of when and how the survey was to be released.
Barrhead CARES is a coalition that was created in 2003 when several community organizations banded together. Initially, it was under the banner of the Barrhead and District Drug Coalition. Its mandate was to combat the problems associated with the effects of alcohol and drug use in the community. In 2012 the group changed its name to Barrhead CARES to reflect its growing mandate.
Besides continuing its efforts against the harmful impact of drugs and alcohol, the group expanded their efforts to a bully initiative, abuse and anything that deals with the health and safety of people in the Barrhead area.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
