Minutes of Meeting, Board of Parks & Recreation
Held at the Park Board Office on Monday, May 4, 2009
(Excerpt)
Raj Hundal,
Vice Chair,
Park Board
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MOTION
The Vice Chair took over the chairing of the meeting so that the Chair could put forward a motion.
Moved by Commissioner Hundal,
WHEREAS none of the City's 12 seniors' centres are located in the Victoria/Fraserview and Killarney neighbourhoods bounded by the Fraser River on the south, Knight Street on the west, 41st Avenue on the north, Boundary Road on the east;
WHEREAS seniors living in southeast Vancouver represent 15.5 per cent of the area's population;
WHEREAS in 2007 Council recognized the need for a seniors' centre in southeast Vancouver by agreeing to provide exploratory work relating to potential funding sources, governance models and site/building selection with the goal of developing a new seniors' centre in southeast Vancouver;
WHEREAS a non-profit society has been formed, called the "Southeast Vancouver Seniors' Art & Cultural Society;"
THEREFORE be it resolved that staff investigate siting options to add approximately 10,000 square feet of program space to the existing Killarney complex in order to accommodate the proposed seniors' centre.
The following delegations requested to speak to the Board regarding the motion:
- Lorna Gibbs, President, Seniors Association
- Keith Jacobson, President, Killarney Community Society
The following is a summary of comments provided by the foregoing delegations:
- need a seniors' centre in southeast Vancouver;
- Killarney is an ideal location because of its proximity to transportation and the centre offers many programs for seniors;
- the seniors' centre could be used for other programming when not used for seniors' programming;
- candidates for the upcoming provincial election are supportive of the project and wanted to know if Park Board was on-side;
- would like the seniors' centre to be modeled after the one at Kerrisdale.
Board members discussed the motion and understood the need for a seniors' centre in this neighbourhood. Killarney would be a good location as it is close to a high school and has an elementary school nearby. A member of the Board stated that although this motion would allow the group to go forward to solicit support and funds for the seniors' centre, it is a major project and should be referred to the Planning and Environment Committee for further discussions.
The motion was put forward and it was Carried Unanimously.
