Dear Editor:
I am addressing my comments to all taxpayers, sports fans and park users in the City of New Westminster.
In the last few weeks there have been a few comments circulating regarding the position of New Westminster Baseball's objection to the Queen's Park Stadium and the Whitecaps proposal.
Our position has been made perfectly clear. We base our objection to this proposal on having no, or at least minimal, information about this proposal, the public consultation process and the transparency issues, all of which need to be addressed.
We have no animosity towards the local soccer community or the Vancouver Whitecaps. We wish them success in their future plans, and this should not be a soccer vs. baseball debate. This is about accountability in the process and the condensed timeline for a decision to be reached and the project to be completed.
I would like to remind the readers that the timeline has been set by the Whitecaps to be ready for play by March 15, 2015.
We suggest the amount of time to refit Queen's Park Stadium, build a new baseball facility and refit a second baseball diamond for the displaced groups is not sufficient. This would also displace soccer groups currently using both of these facilities this winter.
The cost of this project has not been published to date, we have not seen any type of a business plan explaining the attributes on how this will be a positive program for the city to approve or a funding formula put forth on how this will be paid for.
I would also suggest that anybody who is willing to spend their tax dollars without these questions being answered is misguided at best.
There is also a debate that needs to be entered into with regards to the amount of community space to be made available and the impact on our local youth programs in the future, including soccer and other field sports.
We are very aware that the city needs more fields with lighting to accommodate longer usage periods and with our growing population this needs to be addressed, however, it needs to addressed with a well thought out process, transparency and a public form that will satisfy the taxpayers and user groups of Queen's Park.
We support Royal City Soccer and all of the hard-working volunteers. We are all trying to accomplish the same thing; a good quality experience for our kids and the best fields we can afford for them to use. This project is too fast, too costly and too disruptive to local youth sports groups.
All citizens of New Westminster, regardless of their position on this issue, should be very concerned about the process and protect your rights as a taxpayer and the usage of your city parks and, more importantly, our kids.
Ron Suffron, president, New Westminster Baseball Association
