After a last ditch attempt by the Waverley Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) to bring a zip-line adventure park to the Waverly Sports Park was shot down, members of the association have decided to walk away.
"I can't even begin to describe how frustrated and disgusted I am that this current provincial government has once again displayed a complete disregard for the wishes and hopes of the local communities here," said District 2 councillor and WAAA treasurer Barry Dalrymple. "We would have hoped they would have learned something about communicating with local residents after the absolute debacle six months ago just up the road at Laurie Park, but here again, in denying the application of TreeGo to operate in the Waverley Park area, they have dashed the hopes of residents for a wonderful sports and recreation opportunity."
The McDonald's Sports Park in Waverley had reached an agreement with the WAAA to go ahead and open a TreeGO at the Waverley Park on grounds leased by the WAAA from the Crown. Public response to the initial proposal of the park was positive and everything looked like it was a go, but then organizers and enthusiastic residents learned in an email from the Natural Resources department executive director of land services, Gretchen Pohlkamp, that the land leased to the Waverley Amateur Athletic Association is for non-profit recreational activities, not for commercial or revenue generating activities. She said their policies do not permit subletting except in exceptional circumstances. The exceptions relate to communication towers where it is to the benefit of Nova Scotians to minimize the number of towers constructed on Crown land, so tower owners are permitted to lease space on their towers to others."
Pohlkamp went on to say that the department did spend time considering the request.
"The processing of applications for activities on Crown land begins at the staff level. Staff work with clients to gather required information before putting matters forward for approval by senior management, and if required, by the minister or cabinet. In this case, the issue related to the policy was not identified early in the process and a number of steps were taken in relation to the file before the application was put forward for consideration by senior management," Pohlkamp told the District 2 News.
Activities proposed for Crown land is considered on a case by case basis and consider:
1. the appropriateness of the propose activity for Crown land generally, and for the proposed location specifically;
2. the proposed mechanism for giving legal authority for any activity;
3. cross-departmental province-wide issues related to economic development, tourism, environment, etc. (The cross departmental issues are generally identified by senior management after staff have initial discussions with applicants.
According to Gary Hines, former chair of the WAAA, the decision was a shock and disappointment to residents and WAAA committee members who worked so hard at making the project a reality.
Dalrymple said not only has the WAAA given up on the TreeGo project, but they are prepared to walk away from everything including a half-million dollar ball field planned for the park and all maintenance to trails.
"We're talking about 40 years of planning by various groups out the window," he said. "This will affect Cheema, the Shubie Canal partnerships and summer jobs."
He said this is just one more example of losing a great opportunity for Waverley.
"Thousands of people will continue to drive to Moncton, New Brunswick," said Dalrymple. "Ruining the future opportunities this park would have brought here in Nova Scotia."
blhall@eastlink.ca
