Quick Peak: Recreation report ongoing

A report on regional recreation will be delayed until the new year to give more time to gather the public’s thoughts.

Ray Boogaards, City of Powell River director of parks, recreation and culture, said more work is needed before the report can be presented in January.

During the Fall, several public meetings have been held throughout the region, but more meetings are being organized in November to make sure the community has had ample opportunity to participate, he said.

Boogaards wants to know what residents think about current recreation programs and services and what they’ll want in the future, he said. He is also asking residents to consider having one service provider for all programming and services for parks, recreation and culture.

“We don’t have a clue what this will look like yet,” said Boogaards.

He added the service provider could be a department of Powell River Regional District, the city, a not-for-profit organization, or it could stay the same with increased funding from the regional district. It could also have the potential for looking after community halls, playing fields and museums, he said.

At this point the goal of the study is not to decide how a new combined system would be governed, just to gather ideas. “We just want to come up with a model first,” he said.

Meetings are organized for city and regional district residents during the month of November, including ones on Texada Island, Lund and Lang Bay.

Boogaards said the report will be presented to the public in January before it goes to city council.