P ORT C OQUI T L A M C I T Y C OUNC I L : JAN. 10/11 MEETING
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Tri-City News 3
How they voted As a service to our readers, The Tri-City Newss publishes charts of how PoCo councillors vote on issues before them at city council meetings... SHERRY CARROLL
MIKE FORREST
DARRELL PENNER
GLENN POLLOCK
BRAD WEST
MICHAEL WRIGHT
GREG MOORE
CALL ON PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE MINIMUM WAGE FROM $8 TO $10 & ELIMINATE $6 TRAINING WAGE [PASSED]
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
GRANT 3RD READING TO A ZONING AMENDMENT BYLAW THAT WOULD ALLOW A FIVEUNIT TOWNHOUSE DEVELOPMENT AT 2265 ATKINS AVE. [PASSED]
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
(MAYOR)
Walk in the park reveals tree damage Who is ‘girdling’ trees in PoMo’s Art Wilkinson Park? By Todd Coyne THE TRI-CITY NEWS
A vandal has “girdled” or stripped a ring of bark from three trees in a Port Moody park, a crime that likely spells death for the large alders. Derek Wilson, a retired engineer and longtime Glenayre resident, walks his dog in Art Wilkinson Park every day and had been out with Roxy on Jan. 4 when he came upon a tree whose trunk he thought looked to have been chewed by an animal. Upon closer inspection, however, Wilson noticed the deep ring chopped into the tree trunk about a foot above the ground looked like it was done with a sharp, flat blade — like that of an axe or hatchet. Wilson then noticed similar damage to another alder about two metres away and immediately notified Port Moody’s parks and environment department, which found a third damaged alder in the park later that afternoon. Like severing an artery, girdling kills the tree by destroying its inner and outer bark tissues which carry water, nutrients and sap — the tree’s “lifeblood”— between its roots and leaves.
CRAIG HODGE/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Port Moody resident Derek Wilson said he discovered several trees that had been ‘girdled’ while walking his dog. Port Moody city officials have handed the investigation over to PoMo Police, who are looking for witnesses to the acts of vandalism that will likely kill the trees. “It doesn’t look like something that naturally occurred so as a result we notified the Port Moody Police Department,” said Leslyn Johnson, spokesperson for the city. “We’re trying to de-
termine why someone might want to damage these particular trees.” She added that city staff would closely monitor Art Wilkinson Park for any further damage to the city’s trees.
Port Moody Police spokesperson Const. Bill Kim condemned the vandalism as “a random act of stupidity” likely perpetrated by “one or two non-nature-lovers.” Kim said that patrol offi-
cers have been advised to be on the lookout for suspicious activity around city parks and asked the public to call police immediately if they suspect someone of damaging city property.
The three vandalized alders are part of a natural buf fer between the Wilkinson Park playground and community centre on one side, and Port Moody’s Petro-Canada oil refinery on the other — which makes it hard for Wilson to imagine why someone would want to kill them. “You hear about people doing this when someone’s tree is blocking their view,” Wilson said, noting no views are obstructed by these trees. In fact, from the crouching perspective of where the rings were cut into the trees, no homes or residences are even visible, leading Wilson to wonder if these specific trees were targeted to protect the perpetrator from being caught in the act. “One of the reasons we moved into this neighbourhood was because of the natural areas like Burnaby Mountain and Wilkinson Park,” said Wilson, who has lived near the park for 12 years. “I want to get the word out about this or else it’ll continue. If the culprit knows the police have been notified, then they’ll stop.” Wilson said that he has seen Art Wilkinson Park become something of a latenight hangout for teenagers drinking alcohol and causing vandalism behind the community centre since the park’s 2005 renaming to honour the late Port Moody councillor and Glenayre resident. tcoyne@tricitynews.com
Sports groups want turf in Coquitlam arena More sporting groups could use arena with addition of portable turf, say proponents By Janis Warren THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Sports groups at the Coquitlam Sports Centre want to see a turf on the main arena floor. On Monday, Ed Ponsart of the Coquitlam Sports Centre Users’ Association told the city’s recreation committee the artificial
surface over the concrete floor is something all the clubs want and recently gave a unanimous thumbs-up to the proposal. In his PowerPoint presentation, Ponsart listed the benefits of the indoor turf, among them: • increasing multi-use for sports such as lawn bowling, field hockey, tennis, badminton and baseball; • attracting more teams, thereby increasing attendance and profits to the city; • reducing injury rates for players; and • cutting washing times for the floor, especially on Saturdays during the lacrosse season before Coquitlam Adanacs games.
Ponsart, who was accompanied by Adanacs general manager Les Wingrove and Andrea Mattinson, president of the Coquitlam Sports Centre Users’ Association, cited the example of Langley Township’s events centre, where an American product called Rec-Turf — made with a blend of polypropylene and nylon fibres — has garnered rave reviews. Its game lines are attached with Velcro fasteners, he said. To place the same artificial flooring in the Poirier rink would cost the city around $115,000 plus taxes, Ponsart said, adding the custom installation would take about a day-and-a-half.
Coun. Doug Macdonell, chair of the city’s recreation committee, asked Lori MacKay, Coquitlam’s general manager of parks and rec, to prepare a report for city council on the group’s proposal. Home to the Adanacs Sr. and Jr. teams as well as the Coquitlam Express Junior A hockey club, the Coquitlam Sports Centre opened last fall after a $57.6-million makeover. It was the largest capital initiative in Coquitlam’s history and included a new annex, a new year-round curling/ice surface, expanded seating, seismic upgrades and amenities. jwarren@tricitynews.com