Turf war on the West Shore
Construction on a new, 480-seat elementary school is underway in South Langford, an area consisting of mainly residential homes.
“For any young families in the South Langford area, there’s not a lot of amenity land,” said Ravi Parmar, chair of the Sooke School District Board of Education.
The school district was hoping to build the school with a lit, turf all-weather field. Partial funding for that part of the project would need to come from Langford City Hall.
“I sent a letter in January and followed up in February,” said Parmar.
The district received no response from mayor and council.
“Then we sent a final letter in March letting them know we just need an answer one way or another,” said the chair.
With plans needing to be finalized to begin construction, the district decided to proceed without the turf field and lights, settling on an unlit grass field.
“It’s unfortunate the rhetoric that is going around, because it hasn’t even come up to council yet. It’s part of the budgeting process,” said Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson.
Goodmanson says council hasn’t decided yet either way if it is willing to fund the field and expects that conversation to happen around the council table in April. That's when the city budget needs to be finalized.
It’s a budget that has some big ticket items in it.
“We’re trying to figure out how we pay for 27 new firefighters and five new police officers when the previous council only budgeted us for two,” said Goodmanson.
He also points to financial stresses from having to save the YMCA/YWCA operation in Langford and build a new, $81-million police station.
“It’s not that we’re ignoring it, it just hasn’t been the top of our priorities yet, and that’s no disrespect for the school board,” said the mayor.
User groups like the Westshore Warriors Football Club say the mayor and council need to make the construction of more turf fields a priority.
“We need all the fields possible for all of our associations because our municipality is growing,” said Lucy Hansen, team trainer with the Westshore Warriors.
Hansen says between football, soccer and field lacrosse, field time has become hard to come by for sports teams on the West Shore.
“Everything is still a possibility until it comes to council,” said Goodmanson.
The mayor isn’t ruling out council supporting the field or the lights as a separate item.
The school district says if council did decide to support the field, it’s not too late, but it will now come with added costs.
“Because of the fact that our tender went out on Wednesday and any time you make changes to tender of construction projects, it complicates things from a costing perspective,” said Parmar.
For now, construction will proceed without plans to build an all-weather field that community groups can use, one that council isn’t sure it can afford.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.