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Apr 2013This Week at City Hall
Posted by Kilcona Park Dog Club / in Information /
Two key City Councillors have pledged full support for KPDC’s plan to expand Kilcona Dog Park and grant seasonal off- leash access to the ponds, Forest Trail and paved pathways.
Last week KPDC President Donna Henry presented the club’s plan to North Kildonan Councillor Jeff Browaty and Transcona Councillor Russ Wyatt and asked them to approve it. Both Councillors expressed interest in KPDC’s proposal to partner with the City and the club’s corporate sponsors to fund future projects in the off-leash area.
Councillors Wyatt and Browaty agree that any park management plan must support the people who actually use the park. And according to the City’s own documents, “The dog walkers constitute…by far the largest number of users in the park. While facilities exist for soccer and softball, these are exceptions, rather than the rule.”
Councillor Browaty has a history of supporting Kilcona dog owners. During the 2010 civic election campaign, he pledged, “If re-elected I will work to find ways to…make the dog park the city’s premier off-leash facility.”
North Kildonan Councillor Jeff Browaty at Kilcona off-leash area September 2009
At a recent meeting with KPDC Directors, Browaty told City administrators and consultants that any new plan for Kilcona must not only be fiscally reasonable, it must resolve two key issues. Recent engineering studies identified problems with aging control structures – weirs and culverts – on Kilcona’s system of storm water retention ponds and further downstream. Impeded drainage caused flooding, which in turn, has created serious structural damage to Harbourview’s retaining wall, docks and several buildings.
Councillor Wyatt confirmed he will not approve an expansion of the ponds in the off-leash area to create a lake for dragon boat and kayak races for the 2017 Summer Games.
Transcona Councillor Russ Wyatt
Wyatt favours using the Red and Assiniboine race courses and expanding Transcona’s Lake Shirley as a new venue for dragon boat racing.
Dragon boats on Transcona’s Lake Shirley
Councillor Wyatt acknowledged the recent closure of the Transcona’s only off-leash area, together with the downsizing of Little Mountain, and the extension of the Chief Peguis Trail have driven the number of dogs and people beyond the current carrying capacity of Kilcona Dog Park.
Wyatt was surprised to learn that KPDC membership records show Kilcona serves not only the citizens of North and East Kildonan, Transcona, and Elmwood, but also West and Old Kildonan, Mynarski, St. Boniface, St. Vital, East and West St Paul and Selkirk.
Councillor Wyatt alluded to a recent flood of emails he’s received protesting changes to the off-leash area and he credited Kilcona dog owners for their effective lobbying efforts. The Councillor quipped, “Who, who, who let the dogs out?”
The Councillors’ support for KPDC’s off-leash area plan is important.The final Kilcona Park Master Plan, which will include a land-use plan for the off-leash area, must be approved by City Council. Councillors Wyatt and Browaty are members of City Council’s most powerful committee – the Executive Policy Committee. Councillor Wyatt serves as Deputy Mayor while Councillor Browaty serves as Acting Deputy Mayor.
The Councillors also sit on the East Kildonan-Transcona Community Committee (EKT), the only Community Committee that’s a member of Kilcona Park/Harbourview Recreation Complex Stakeholder Group.
Kilcona stakeholders review maps at visioning workshop.
Publically, East Kildonan’s Thomas Steen, the third EKT Councillor East Kildonan Councillor has said little about the matter. Responding to emails protesting the proposed downsizing, he said, “Harbourview /KilCona Park is certainly in need of some re-development. Many areas and facilities are greatly underutilized due to aging infrastructure and limited resources. The goal of the re-development is to create a space that services many different types of users. I am not supportive of any large reduction to the off-leash dog area.”
East Kildonan Councillor Thomas Steen