Amendment to the Vancouver Charter – removal of elected Park Board

#saveourparkboard

Dear Mayor and Council

Re: Mayor Ken Sim Motion “Amendment to the Vancouver Charter” …

“..THAT Council formally request that the Province of British Columbia amend or repeal section 485 of the Vancouver Charter (“VC”) to remove the requirement for an elected board of commissioners …

https://council.vancouver.ca/20231213/documents/cfscA2.pdf

I oppose the undemocratic and likely illegal abolition of an ELECTED Park Board, and the transfer of its responsibilities to an UNELECTED Board appointed by the Mayor and under the control of City Council for the following reasons:

1. During the last election ABC ran with the promise and mandate to KEEP the elected Park Board and the Commissioners were elected on that basis. It would be completely undemocratic to now ignore that promise and the wishes of the electorate and abolish this elected body. It’s also a blatant power grab.
2. The Vancouver Charter states that Vancouver Parks are designated as under the “EXCLUSIVE possession, jurisdiction and control” of a separate ELECTED. Park Board. A 2/3 majority is required by BOTH Council and Park Board to remove a permanent park designation. I maintain that the same 2/3 majority is required to abolish that elected Board, as it would entail transferring the “possession, jurisdiction and control” from an elected Park Board to City Council. I have not seen any legal opinion or legal authority that gives Council the SOLE authority to abolish the Park Board, and without the Park Board also agreeing by a 2/3 majority. On December 11, 2023 the Park Board Commissioners voted 4 – 3 against the Mayor’s plan to abolish the Park Board. Therefore, Council does not have the legal authority to proceed.
3. I don’t see how Council would be able to manage the extra workload required to properly manage 250 parks plus Community Centres, pools, ice rinks, street trees, marinas, sports fields, playgrounds, and public golf courses. Even with an appointed Board, a lot of time would have to be devoted to oversight and management and meeting the public about parks and recreation issues. Committee meetings and Public Hearings would be required. These would have to be added to an already overcrowded Council schedule! Our parks would certainly suffer as a result.
4. The argument that Vancouver is the only large city in Canada that has an independently elected board to look after parks and recreation is irrelevant and not by any means a reason to dismantle this 135 year old elected and generally successful governing body. So what, I say!
5. Sure, park management has issues that should be dealt with but these do not justify getting rid of it. The present Board is only one year into its term with 3 years left to fulfill its mandate and improve park management. The fact that the Mayor has so little faith in his own elected party members is a major cause for concern and only reflects badly on his own management capabilities. Already he’s lost 3 ABC Park Board Commissioners, his Park Board majority and a lot of credibility. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that an appointed Board needing much the same staff to operate and with little supervision from a busy Council would do any better. In all likelihood things would get a lot worse.
6. The Mayor has touted “cost savings” as a reason to do this, but when asked to outline those savings he replied glibly “I’m a lean six sigma black belt”. This response not only avoids the question but does not inspire any confidence that there are any, or enough, actual cost savings to justify eliminating a 135 year old elected Board. In fact it would likely end up costing more. It only makes this manoeuvre seem even more of a power grab, that he thinks he does not have to actually justify. Saying “trust me, I know what I’m doing” does not hold water, especially given that he has reneged on his promise to keep the Park Board. And now we’re supposed to trust him?
7. There has been zero public consultation about this undemocratic move which only serves to illustrate exactly how the current City Council majority would treat the management of our parks and recreation – in secret behind closed doors and without any public input or consultation.
8. The public should decide this matter through a referendum at the next election before any request is made to the province to change the Vancouver Charter regarding the Park Board.

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Elvira Lount

Keep Kits Beach Wild

Sign the Petition SAVE OUR PARK BOARD