Organizers take exercise parks proposal to council

By Lawrence Gleason, Local Press Writer

Leaders of a Claresholm community project that has fundraised for two exercise parks to be placed within Patterson Park and Centennial Park on the east and west sides of Claresholm took their case to town council last week, while council want them to take their proposal to a facilities planning committee.
Exercise parks are adult-sized outdoor exercise stations that have gained in popularity in different communities.
Donna Courage, the Chamber of Commerce president, said she was assured, when she met Feb. 13 with town council, that council was supportive of the community plan for two exercise parks and has that in writing, that the town council supported the plan “as presented.”
Courage said town council has since dropped support for two exercise parks and now supports one, but her fundraising efforts have promised two.
Courage has applied for two grants, worth a total of $30,000, one with a deadline of the end of August, and one with a deadline at the end of this year. Fundraising from the Claresholm business community and local residents have raised $18,375. The cost of the two exercise parks Courage estimates at $40,000.
Courage also has 32 letters of support for the two exercise parks from community.
The letters are from business and government organizations, including from the Porcupine Hills Lodge; Cottonwood Village Retirement Residence; Community Futures Alberta Southwest, and several local businesses.
The Town of Claresholm itself sent a March 8 e-mail stating land from both Centennial Park, worth $750, and Patterson Park, worth $912, would be donated to the project, which followed a March 2 Town of Claresholm letter to Courage supporting the project “as outlined” when Courage proposed two exercise parks.
Courage found out about the town’s change of plans by accident.
In July, Courage was asked by New Horizons, the federal grant program for seniors, for a letter from the Town of Claresholm, verifying the town had the land for the park and were supportive of the project.
Courage called the town to arrange that.
It was only then she discovered the town’s Facility and Infrastructure Planning Committee (FIPC) had decided, without informing her, the east-side exercise park for Patterson Park was not included in the town’s recently drafted recreation master plan. The town was supporting one exercise park, not two. This was July 20.
Time was ticking. The $15,000 New Horizons grant, for the Patterson Park portion of the project, had a deadline.
Courage decided to talk to Town of Claresholm Chief Administrative Officer Marian Carlson, who told her councillors would like to see surveys from residents on their view of the town’s recreation master plan. That would determine if two exercise parks were wanted.
On July 28, town staff printed off 200, two-page surveys on the recently-drafted town recreation master plan for Courage who knocked on doors over the July-August long weekend.
Courage said there was no line in the survey for people to support two exercise parks, but people wrote that in on the survey forms.
Survey forms completed, Courage telephoned Carlson, when Carlson advised her town councillors had changed their mind. The completed survey forms were not enough. A petition was required to make a change to the recreation master plan.
Again Courage saw a deadline. She had to present the completed petition at the Aug. 14 town council meeting as it was the last meeting of August and her New Horizons grant would expire at month’s end without the newly required letter from the town.
So that evening Courage created a petition and printed off several copies. The following day, the Wednesday, she set up outside the post office.
“I caught everyone going in and out,” Courage said. “By one o’clock I had 377 signatures of support.”
A phone call to Alberta Municipal Affairs informed her she needed 10 per cent of the town’s population to ensure she could not be refused by the town. She was one signature short. So she sought more petition signatures at the Claresholm Farmers’ Market.
“I have maybe 470 signatures now,” Courage said.
That done, Courage asked to be on the Aug. 14 Claresholm town council agenda.
“I made out a note, like you are supposed to do, to be put on the agenda to address town council. Marian (Carlson) told me (Mayor) Rob (Steel) had to decide.”