The consultation to end all consultations!

Come out to the public process to decide where we should site the skatepark. Run by a guy that really knows how to do this stuff (not us!), and winding up in April 2011, this is your chance to have your say. First meeting January 25th, Miner's Hall 7:45 PM. Second and last meeting in April.

But you need to do some homework before you come to the January meeting!

This meeting will agree on: the process rules and the criteria for evaluating the candidate sites, and will think about which sites to evaluate in the second meeting.

• check out the proposed process
• check out the proposed candidate sites
• check out the proposed criteria 

And come ready to add your own ideas (or of course to totally agree with all the above).

JavaScript must be enabled in order for you to use Google Maps.
However, it seems JavaScript is either disabled or not supported by your browser.
To view Google Maps, enable JavaScript by changing your browser options, and then try again.

Background

We all want a skatepark in Rossland, but finding the right place for it is key. Rossland Skatepark Association (RSA) has done some work to try to identify the right location for Rossland, but now we’re supporting a more comprehensive process, run by an interested outsider: ex-Mayor and professional facilitator Les Carter. The aim is to come up with a recommendation to Council that has legitimacy, through a process that satisfies everyone that their voice has been heard.

The consultation process

Anyone that is impacted by the final decision should have a say in it. That pretty much means any Rosslander that wants to be part of the process is welcome. The process will involve two public meetings (the first January 25th 2011) and should wrap up by April 2011. It will also involve, in parallel, the RSA contacting as many communities with skateparks as we can with a survey to gauge their experience with their skateparks.

• RSA Public Process Outline is a note that outlines the process, including a timeline, ground rules, proposed sites and draft criteria (read this before the first meeting)
• RSA Letter to Council is the RSA’s letter to City Council that describes the process and what we hope to get out of it.
• RSA Questions for Communities is the list of survey questions to be sent to other communities.

 GET INVOLVED

At the end of the day the process depends on people participating. To get involved, come prepared to the first meeting.  Any questions?  Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Or leave comments here.

History

In 2008 RSA went to Council with the idea of building a skatepark in Rossland. Council at the time was supportive, but challenged us to raise some money and engage the community, as a way to demonstrate that we were serious. In August 2009 the RSA went back to Council noting that we’d raised over $10,000, and asking again for permission to build a skatepark in Rossland. We proposed that we would fund it and build it on City land, and then hand it over to the City. We proposed a 15,000 square foot park (mid-sized) at either the Emcon lot or the area below (south of) the Centennial soccer fields, adjacent to the new bike jumps. Council was again supportive, but asked us to undergo a thorough assessment of the candidate sites as well as a few others.

RSA Board developed a set of criteria for judging potential sites, based on criteria used by major skatepark builders in Canada. We judged five different sites and produced a report that assessed them and recommended the Emcon lot as the top site. (see the report). We went back to Council and delivered the report. Council responded by granting us until December 2011 to raise the funds and come back to them with a proposal. They named the northwest corner of the Emcon lot as our site. But that’s not the final site decision. For one thing, any final site decision has to go through a re-zoning application and public hearing. Naming the site was done primarily so that the RSA would be able to fundraise, since without a site we can’t approach major donors. For another thing, when the site was announced some residents that lived near the site weren’t happy about the decision, or the process, since they hadn’t been consulted. RSA convened a meeting of those neighbours soon after the decision to hear their concerns. (see meeting report). As a result of that meeting the RSA decided to remove the northwest corner as a candidate site, but still consider the southwest corner. RSA held two more public meetings after that, but we still came no closer to a final decision on a site. At the second meeting Les Carter, who has deep experience running public consultation processes, volunteered to help us out and guide a process. That sounded great to us. So here we are.

Again...GET INVOLVED

At the end of the day the process depends on people participating. To get involved, come prepared to the first meeting.  Any questions?  Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Or leave comments here.