Young teenage students at River Valley School have opted to be part of the process to decide the future of Sundre's pocket parks.
The issue exploded in controversy earlier this month when the town announced plans to sell six small green spaces from the town's total inventory of 14 public parks. A seventh green space, the soccer pitch on the east side of the river, is also earmarked for future elimination once a new venue is found.
Town officials estimated the total assessed value of the pocket parks is about $399,000, and the monies could be used to expand the current tax base while having additional funds for future projects.
However, following a raucous Oct. 15 town council meeting, packed with opponents of the plan, the town retreated from its initial proposal and moved with an alternative motion to revisit the sale of the pocket parks. Sundre residents will now have the opportunity to make their voices heard at an open house some time before Dec. 17.
Principal Rod MacLean said a suggestion was forwarded to the school last week for 13- and 14-year-old students to engage themselves in the passionate public discussion.
He said a schoolteacher reviewed the request with 55 students from two Grade 8 classes.
“The classes discussed the possible costs and benefits of the town's proposal,” said MacLean, adding the front page pocket park story in the Oct. 23 Round Up was read to students.
He said it was important for the school not to endorse any position on the issue to the students.
“We want students to know that their opinions matter. A well informed opinion is a democratic responsibility,” said MacLean. “They want to contribute to the debate. The students were left to make up their own minds on what they wanted done.”
The principal said the pocket parks issue was not the first civic issue that has been brought to students at the school. MacLean said school officials are always looking for issues that fit with the institution's curriculum.
“We've had issues that students can relate to. They are not going to be interested so much in taxes, tax hikes or property values,” he said. “But they have a strong relationship with play areas. I can safely say this is an important issue for them.”
And their letters will also count for grades. MacLean said each student composition would be marked.
“It will be marked on how well thought out each letter is, whether there are good reasons behind it and how well they communicated,” said MacLean.
The principal said he expected the student letters to be completed by the end of last week. They will then be emailed to the town's planning and development office.
Meanwhile, a date for the town's open house on the public parks issue has not yet been announced. Council was told on Oct. 15 that town staff wanted to prepare all options and ensure the public has correct information.
The open house will focus on the pocket parks but will also deal with the future of Sundre's parks system. It will feed into the process for the town's Recreation Master Plan, which is earmarked for the 2014 civic budget.
