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Rotary Club of Powell River seeks property for garden

Rotarians want to build allotment of small plots at JP Dallos Park

Rotary Club of Powell River is seeking City of Powell River approval to develop a community allotment garden on city land known as JP Dallos Park.

At the February 1 committee of the whole meeting, Jill Ehgoetz, director of service projects for the Rotary club, said the garden is a new project the club is hoping to bring to the community.

“We are seeking permission to repurpose JP Dallos Park into an allotment garden,” said Ehgoetz. “This would not be a community garden where people come together to share a garden, but a grid of small plots that we rent out annually to local gardeners at a nominal rate, where they can develop the space for their own gardening needs.

“The idea of an allotment garden came to us a few years ago.”

Ehgoetz added that there are several allotment gardens around the province and Rotary representatives have talked to organizers of several of them.

Ehgoetz said with assistance from city staff, JP Dallos Park was chosen as the prospective location.

“It’s ideal because it is sunny, centrally located, flat and un-treed,” said Ehgoetz. “We believe the garden would bring a lot of benefit to the community. More and more people are living in spaces where a large yard is a thing of the past. Housing lots are smaller. Multiunit housing is more affordable but usually comes without outdoor space.”

Ehgoetz said there are increases in the prices of fresh produce. She said there is also worry about the quality of food being offered for sale, such as whether pesticides are being used, how long has the produce been on the road until it arrives on the dinner table, and if there can be trust that there will always be sufficient produce at the grocery store.

She said COVID-19 has changed many things in the past two years. She said people have stayed home, cut back their circle of friends, some have left their jobs and are tired of Netflix, and others are out of shape due to inactivity.

“An allotment garden can alleviate some of these concerns and enhance the quality of life of our citizens,” said Ehgoetz. “I’ve provided you with a detailed proposal and a budget for this project. The Rotary Club of Powell River is asking the city for a licence of occupation. With it, we’ll develop JP Dallos Park into a site with approximately 100 300-square-foot individual plots.

“We will bear the cost of the site improvement with our own funds and those obtained through grants. We ask that city crews provide manpower and equipment to install fencing and water lines and any other ground preparation that may be needed.”

Ehgoetz said Rotary will provide professional final drawings and layout. She added that the immediate neighbourhood will be made aware of the development and any concerns will be addressed. Rotary will provide all of the management ongoing, according to Ehgoetz.

Idea intrigues councillors

Committee chair councillor CaroleAnn Leishman said it’s a fantastic idea.

Councillor Cindy Elliott said it’s amazing and the offer to manage the facility answers some of the issues the city has with ongoing maintenance. She asked what needed to be done to have the matter considered by the city.

“Do we need a motion of some sort to get this in the planning process?” asked Elliott.

Leishman said the initial step would be to direct staff to bring back a report. She asked chief administrative officer Russell Brewer about the request for city crews to do some work.

Brewer said it’s not currently in staff’s work plan. He said to prospectively implement the project later this month and in March would require some extra city resources. He said it also appears to be contingent on Powell River Community Forest (PRCF) funding, which will not likely have final approval on grants until May.

“There would be a timeline issue with what’s laid out here,” said Brewer.

Leishman asked Ehgoetz if there is a plan B for the work portion of the development if city staff can’t build that into the work plan.

Ehgoetz said that was the case, and the budget would be revised to hire the equipment. She said because it’s city land, she assumed city crews would like to be involved with installing new fencing and the water supply lines.

Brewer said PRCF has funded community gardens previously, such as the one at Powell River General Hospital, and there was a request of about $70,000 from the community forest, so he suspects PRCF would be supportive of more of an ask than what has been laid out in the Rotary plan.

Councillor George Doubt said the community could use an allotment garden and it looks like the plan covers most of the costs, except for those that had been enumerated as being provided by the city. He said maybe PRCF would be interested in providing part of that. He said he’d like to see the matter studied a bit more, to provide a clear picture of how much dollar value the city is being asked to approve before the matter goes too much further.

“Your plan looks really well thought-out,” said Doubt. “I think we need details on the financing.”

Councillor Jim Palm said he is not sure how much of the field Rotary is planning on using, but it is a valuable resource on the recreation front.

“I’m a little concerned about losing one of our playing fields,” said Palm.

City director of properties, development and communications Scott Randolph said regarding the park, if he is not mistaken, under the parks and trails master plan, was set for deactivation.

“It wasn’t meant to be a playing field going forward, except for maybe the ball diamond,” said Randolph.

The committee gave unanimous consent for a staff report.