Working from a premise that if our community doesn’t do something about it, somebody else will. Your executive has been wrestling with the issue all summer, including sporadic discussions with the City. We also solicited your views on what Robert Andrew Russell Park should be used for and while the response has been sparse, it’s also been diverse.

   Probably the most contentious proposal put forward is that the City should sell the park to a property developer. Although parks are legally-protected entities and it could be a complex and cumbersome process, selling it is not an impossibility. The notion is predicated on an expectation that the City would use the proceeds for further development of Billings Park just a few metres away on the other side of the avenue.

   Billings Park has a new play structure and some updated swings, but that’s pretty well it. Even so, it is increasingly popular with young families and might benefit from additional facilities. Given the older demographic in our community, some might argue that children-focused development isn’t appropriate, but our demographic profile is steadily changing as more families with children move into the community.

   If Robert Andrew Russell Park is to remain a recreational area, it clearly needs to be improved. That should include an aggressive thinning of the surrounding greenery, notably the buckthorn, which eventually chokes out other growth. The park then would be more visible from the street and, hence, inherently safer for those who would use it.

   As for how we might use it, assuming that development is not practicable, the board received a number of other proposals: