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
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.