Kamloops This Week May 19, 2021

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021 | Volume 34 No. 20

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Council gives nod to Riverside Park pilot project JESSICA WALLACE

STAFF REPORTER

jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com

Kamloops council has approved a pilot project, which will see recreational businesses and additional food trucks in Riverside Park this summer as part of a Tourism Kamloops initiative. Council voted 7-2 in favour of approving the proposal, which required a bylaw exemption to allow commercial activity in the park. Mayor Ken Christian and councillors Dale Bass, Dieter Dudy, Sadie Hunter, Mike O’Reilly, Bill Sarai and Kathy Sinclair voted in favour, while councillors Arjun Singh and Denis Walsh were opposed. O’Reilly said Riverside Park is “tired” and needs activity to animate the space. Dudy said the pilot is worth a shot and can be axed in the future, should it not be well received by the public. Sinclair said Riverside Park is already an active park, with dancing, hoola-hooping, frisbee, cycling, skateboarding, pickleball and a splash park. “Despite all those activities, I can always find a place to quietly recreate and read a book,” she said.

THE CAPTAIN JENNIFER CASEY MEMORIAL Monday was the anniversary of the May 17, 2020, Snowbirds jet crash in Kamloops that claimed the life of Capt. Jennifer Casey (right) and seriously injured the pilot, Capt. Richard MacDougall. On the anniversary date, Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian revealed plans for a Captain Jennifer Casey Memorial in a planned Fulton Field Park, which will be located on Tranquille Road, near Kamloops Airport (above). Also on the anniversary date, KTW visited the Brocklehurst neighbourhood where the jet crashed and spoke to residents about that tragic day.

STORIES BEGIN ON PAGE A10

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Several members of the public appeared before council on Tuesday, raising questions about public consultation for the program, how the project fit Tourism Kamloops’ mandate, safety of additional water activities and how the project fit within the city’s previously approved downtown plan. Resident Tom Rankin said the public already rejected a proposed public parkade and market at Riverside Park. “What part of no is unclear?” Rankin asked council. “What has changed?” A member of the park protectionist group the Friends of Riverside Park suggested deferring the proposal for public consultation. Walsh said bringing forward the project was “opportunistic” by a special interest group. Singh said he could not support the initiative because of the lack of community consultation. He said Riverside Park is already busy during the pandemic. He said the issue has divided the community. “Riverside Park is an electric wire in Kamloops politics,” Singh said. “I’d like to have COVID projects unite the community, not divide the community.” See CONCERNS, A6

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