Back to Community 2027-2030 Capital Plan

Statement Watch

Good afternoon. Is that mic good? End timer. Good afternoon. My name is Tom Digby, and I'm speaking as chair of the elected park board. And you know what? There's a lot of good things in motion three. So I support some of it. But what I'm going to do today is ask you to refer it back to staff for further consideration. That's my position on the motion. So here's a quick review of the great and what's not so great about this motion. The $400 million is a real commitment to community centers. That is a significant commitment. And so we thank you for the $400 million commitment. Now, the going rate for a new community center is $120 million. So with $400 million, you can replace three of our top priority community centers, you know, the ones in the heart of the highest growth neighborhoods with the highest recognized community needs. So that part of the motion is, of course, excellent, and it corresponds to what the park board called for. Two weeks ago, we called for $400 million for community centers, and we also called for another billion dollars to go into swimming pools, skating rinks, and other parks and open spaces across the city. So at our public meeting we had at the park board, we had 63 speakers. They came from all across the city. and representing all different aspects of the park board system. And many of them are here again tonight to speak to this $1.4 billion of investments that are badly needed across the city. Now, there's some deep flaws with the motion, which is why I'm asking you to refer it to staff for further consideration. There is no commitment in the motion to repair and renewal of existing swimming pools, and I would like to highlight the Kitsilano pool that needs renewal and the new 50-meter pool. By referring this to staff, you could be heroes, councillors. You could be the ones to find a place for a 50-metre pool, and two of the community centres you identified, namely Kensington and Hastings centres, would be very well suited for a 50-metre pool. That could be your decision in this motion if you send it to staff. The motion provides no substantial commitment to Britannia. Okay, you had a unanimous motion here that you all supported to support that. We see a very modest support of Britannia in there. Earlier this afternoon, you received the 2025 financial statements. I've read those statements very closely, and councillors, you can afford to borrow a billion dollars based on that without increasing the debt service levels. And this is something I do want to talk to the mayor about. If we ever get an invitation, we'll be happy to talk to the mayor. So the biggest flaw in the motion is a risk that it will be seen as improperly influenced by political choices that are not necessarily in the best interest of the city. Please vote to refer this motion to staff for further consideration so the public can vote confidently when it comes time to vote in October.

Statement Watch

Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon, Chair, Mayor Kensim, member council, and fellow speakers. My name is Balwinder Singh Varad.

So I understand you are a representative for a group. Are you a representative for a group, group of speakers?

I'm representing the Sunset Community Association.

Okay, so in order to give you five minutes to speak, You need to identify all other people in your group.

I'm glad to hear that, but I'll try to stick to three minutes. But if I have some other questions, I'm honored to hear that. Yeah, sorry. I'm going to restart your call. No problem. You want me to start again? Sure, yeah. There it goes. It's all written in here. Good afternoon, Chair, Mayor Kensim, Member of Council, and fellow speakers. My name is Balwinder Singh Varadj, President of Sanseh Community Association, resident of City Vancouver. I'm here in support of motion number three. I want to begin by recognizing the vision and leadership this chamber has shown. Your commitment to long-term planning, equity, and building is a stronger city because strong community don't happen by accident. They are built through investments. by maintaining and renewing existing community centers and by delivering new facilities where they are needed most. And right now, Sunset is one of those places. Sunset is one of the fastest growing community in South Vancouver, full of families, youth and seniors. But we do not have access to a modern aquatic facility in our own neighborhood. Families travel across the city for swimming lessons. Seniors miss out on low-impact fitness and rehabilitation. Youth lose opportunity to stay active in safe, structured space. For many, access simply becomes out of reach. That is not equity. A 25-meter pool is not a luxury. It is a basic standard amenity for the South Vancouver community. It supports swimming lessons that save lives. It provides space for fitness, therapy, and community programming. It serves all ages and abilities. Our community centers are full. Our parks are busy. The demand is clear. This motion is about priorities, and this is where your leadership matters most. Equity means recognizing where the gaps are and closing them. In Sunset Community, that gap is clear, and it's been clear for many years, approximately 30 decades, or 30 years. We are encouraged by progress, including the new senior center that shows what's possible when vision turns into action. But a complete community also need access to aquatic facility. So here is the ask. As you finalize the 2027-2033 capital plan, prioritize a modern aquatic facility at Sunset Community Center, anchored by a 25-meter pool. With the leadership this chamber has shown, I'm confident you will take the next step and deliver a 25-meter pool for South Vancouver.

Thank you for your leadership. Once again, I fully support this motion. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Thank you, Bhavinder.

Speaker number two is Carola Mansfeld. Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor, councillors, other speakers. I echo everything that the previous two speakers have spoken about, but I'm here as a representative of the Canadian Dolphin Swim Club, which has been in existence for 70 years, anchored at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre and representing hundreds of families and children and also master swimmers who have swum with the club for the past 70 years. The pool capacity shortfall in the city is becoming critical with five of the nine existing indoor pools currently considered at end of functional lifespan. Of those nine, Carisdale Pool is currently closed indefinitely and the VAC will be closing in two months. No new facilities have been produced under the 2019 van splash plan to date. With the VAC closing, we not only lose our 50-meter pool, but we are left with no pool in the city of Vancouver capable of hosting a swim meet of any size. And when it reopens, we will still have less lane capacity than we do now. While I applaud the motion to include renewing community centers in the capital plan, I believe that thought should be given to which of those centers could include a 50-meter pool. For example, building a 50-meter modular pool as part of the Hastings Community Center renewal would add less than $30 million to the cost and provide additional pool capacity to the area for the immediate future and for when the nearby Templeton pool will need to be replaced. If the cost of rebuilding of the VAC at a minimum of $175 million is the standard, the city will never be able to catch up. The effect of kicking the provision of more capacity 10 years down the road is this. Children currently of less than age will be graduating from high school in 10 years and will never learn to swim. And young, aspiring competitive swimmers will never be able to swim in a 50-meter pool. I've spoken about modular pools before, and we've even met with the Councillor Kirby Young and Classen and Councillor Zhou in the past and presented some designs to you. The cost of building modular pools with 40-year lifespans is around a sixth of the cost of building conventional pools. We need to move beyond spending tens of millions on architects and consultants, hundreds of millions on construction, and multiple years to produce architectural award-winning pools. I want to be clear that I'm not speaking against the proposed South Vancouver pool. The more pools, the better. I understand that the petition for that pool has received some 3,000 signatures, but I would like to remind everyone that the petition for a 50-meter pool was signed by more than 16,000 people.

So maybe we can make all of those 20,000 people happy and produce a 25-meter and a 50-meter pool in the coming capital plan. Thank you.

Statement Watch

yes can you hear me yes we can please go ahead okay great uh good afternoon um councillor our mayor and councillors i echo what tom the vendor and corolla have just said um my name is lexus fluvog and while i support further investment in rec centers and aquatic facilities i'm very frustrated as a vancouver resident a parent a swimmer and a member of a community that depends on vancouver facilities I'm just frustrated that after ongoing discussions and community feedback, a 15-meter aquatic facility is still not in the plans. I see a 25-meter pool in the Sunset area, and that's great, but that's not what many Vancouver swimmers have been asking for. The VAC is scheduled to close on June 28th of this year, and when that happens, Vancouver will lose its only publicly accessible 50-meter pool for training and competitions. For many families, including mine, the loss of a VAC is deeply personal. My son, Lucas, who's 12, swims with the Canadian Dolphins Swim Club. Like so many kids, he spends hours each week in the pool working hard, setting goals, learning discipline, and being part of a team that supports him. But this story actually starts a generation earlier. Swimming with the Canadian Dolphins helped buoy my husband, Adrian, as he navigated dyslexia as a young person. School was not always easy for him, but in the pool he found structure, purpose, and confidence. The swim club gave him a place where he could succeed, and that confidence carried into the rest of his life. Now, as parents of a child with dyslexia who also swims with a dolphin, we're counting on the same community to now buoy our son. I speak with parents all the time to say the same thing, that the pool is where their children thrive, where they feel strong, where they feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves. And as parents, we hear the same messages. We need to get our kids off the phones. We need to protect their mental health. We need to keep them active. This is Vancouver's chance to support these kids. We have the solution. And it's not just about swimming. It's about mental health, belonging, and opportunity. And it's about access for everyone. Aquatic centers are not luxury amenities. They're essential public infrastructure. They serve children learning to swim, seniors maintaining mobility, people recovering from injury, families connecting, and entire communities staying active and healthy. But not all pools are created equal. A 50-meter pool can be used by everyone for recreation, for lessons, and for lane swimming, and for competition. A leisure pool cannot replace that. When you replace a 50-meter pool such as the VAC with a leisure-focused 25-meter facility, you're not just changing a design, you're removing a critical piece of infrastructure from the city. And right now, there isn't a clear plan to replace it. So what happens next while this capital plan is being debated? Where do the kids go? Where do these teams train? Where does this community gather? And the reality is, there is nowhere else. Vancouver's pools are already full.

There's no available capacity and no equivalent facility. In a city like Vancouver, a city that values health, community, and excellence, it's hard to understand how we could allow this to happen. But there's still time to change course. There are innovative, cost-effective models like the module pools that Carola mentioned that can deliver a 50-meter facility quickly, within 15 months. For our swimmers who are some of Canada's best and they're looking forward to L.A. 2028, this is the option they need.

You're 30 seconds over already. Thank you.

My apologies. Thanks for listening. I'll end it there.

Statement Watch

Thank you very much. Aaron Jasper, former Park Board Commissioner and Chair. I have grave concerns about the motion that you are considering today. And I'll just be very blunt. To me, it looks like a political document. The park board staff, along with the community center associations, have worked tirelessly to come up with a fact-based list of community centers, ranked list, in need of renewal. And that's not to say that all the community centers couldn't use a bit of upkeep. But they've already prioritized the list. And I want to back up two steps. I do applaud Mayor's commitment to $400 million. On April 7th, Park Board had a special meeting. I was one of the speakers. It was amazing to see the turnout of people. $400 million was approved in the ask at that meeting. The mayor a few days later, I believe it was at a Board of Trade, made a similar announcement. In fact, Ed Visaki... In Vancouver, I went up to our mayor and I shook his hand. I said, thank you very much, Mr. Mayor, for your commitment to $400 million towards community centres. I think it really showed, at least for me, a glimmer of hope that we could work collaboratively and put the politics aside. But I challenge this council to produce that document, the staff document, because, as other speakers could speak to, Park Board staff... had no input into the list that was referenced by the mayor. The community centers had no input onto the list. So the list that you're being asked to consider today, we don't know. It's a mystery as to which staff came up with that list. So, you know... It's nice to hear when council respects the jurisdiction of the park board in the last motion, the regarding lifeguard funding, that whole issue is referred back to park board because it's their jurisdiction. And I would ask that in that same spirit, that this motion in some iteration is referred to park board, defer to the experts, refer to the park board staff, defer to the communities and associations that worked many, many hours to come up with this list. Again, the list that was provided by Park Board commissioners was a fact-based document with several different criteria. And I think that really, those are the experts referred to that list. What we see here today, what's being voted on is a political document. It's disappointing to see, because I think there is enough credit to be taken. I said that to our mayor when I saw him at Fusaki. I said, you know, the legacy is for everyone to work together, pulling in the same direction. And I really hope that this gets punted back to Park Board, or at least you refer to the work that they've done With respect to aquatics, you know, it's unfortunate. I think Sunset deserves there. They lost their pool years ago, but if I'm not mistaken, Marple Community Center was also supposed to have a pool, and that's not in there. So where it comes to aquatics, where it comes to community centers, I implore you, refer this back to Park Board, refer to the experts, and work together. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Yes, we can.

Thank you. My name is Paul Beasley. I'm a resident of Sunset Area, which is on Musqueam Lines. I'm calling today speaking on behalf of Cost of the Want Society. I'd like to start off by saying, dear Mayor, Tim and Council, I do fully support Councillor Kirby Young's motion, particularly the commitment to build a 25-meter pool at Sunset Park. Southland is used to having things taken away, as the previous speaker alluded to. This is what happened when the old centre shut down about two decades ago. All we're asking for is what once was. We need our outdoor pool back. Studies were cited. There have been city studies that have been done by staff that identified this area for investment, particularly for a pool. Southland's investments are unfortunately constantly politicized, yet everyone looks to us when support is needed. For years, we've been leaned on during election cycles and overlooked afterward. We do appreciate that this has started to change under the current administration, and if there are questions about the supports being delivered, please know that we're keeping track. To the comments about studies and facts, elections and community excuse me elections and election cycles are community engagement themselves and an exercise in information gathering i know for a fact that mayor and council were out during this past osaki which was again mentioned by my by the previous speaker and questions were asked and community members were loud about the things that we need and the infrastructure that we deserve this motion is reasonable It's overdue, and it is grounded in evidence. Please support it. Thank you. I yield the rest of my time.

Statement Watch

Hello, hello. I don't know. I have to test the height of the mic here. Dear Mayor and Council, my name is Henry Hung Lu. I'm the Executive Director of the Dr. Sanyasin Garden Society of Vancouver, which governs the Dr. Sanyasin Classical Chinese Garden. I'm here today to express our strong support for the motion to establish strategic priorities for the 2027 to 2030... capital plan and in particular for the priority investment in the renewal and upgrade of the doctor seniors and classical chinese garden pond The garden draws tens of thousands of visitors annually, and it is a national treasure and consistently recognized as one of Vancouver's most significant cultural destinations. The pond, located predominantly within the public Dr. St. Vincent Park under Vancouver Park Board jurisdiction, is central to that experience. In the Ming Dynasty landscape tradition, water is not decorative. It is foundational. A pond in decline diminishes everything around it. The ongoing decline of the pond is not a new concern. It has been documented since at least 2002. And in 2008, with the expertise of the garden's architect, landscape architect, and senior park board staff, the proposal did not make the capital plan that cycle. And the pond has continued to decline since. The renewal and upgrade now included in your motion will enable the scope of work that has been needed for nearly two decades, including draining the pond, removing organic matter, repairing clay liner, and installing a water recirculation system. The garden pond is a high value investment that can be delivered within the capital planning framework. It is a well-scoped project with a long paper trail serving a public asset that draws visitors from across the city and around the world. This is a visible, meaningful win for Chinatown, for Vancouver's cultural infrastructure, and for the communities that this council serves. A pond restoration project will return the garden and the park to its original beauty and protect the investments that the citizens of Vancouver and beyond made many years ago for many more decades. And this year, as the garden celebrates its 40th anniversary, you know, the garden opened to the public during Expo on April 24th, 1986. We are grateful that this council has recognized the pond renewal as a priority public asset investment, and I urge you to pass this motion.

Thank you so much.

Statement Watch

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes, we can. Please go ahead.

Perfect. Good afternoon, everyone. Mayor Sim and Council. My name is Amandeep Bisla. I strongly support Councillor Kirby Young's motion, especially the inclusion of a 25 meter pool at Sunset Park. I'm just going to go off script a bit. I actually grew up in Sunset and I remember going to the pool when we were kids. It was a sense of belonging for us. It was a sense of community. It brought out all the neighborhood kids. And so just reflecting on all those fond memories as well. Sunset has gone 18 years without a pool. An entire generation in a dense, diverse, working-class neighborhood has grown up without access to one. Despite years of community advocacy, this need has been acknowledged but not acted on. At the same time, South Vancouver has seen a clear pattern of under-investments. The urgency is real. The 2021 heat dome showed the deadly impact of lacking cooling infrastructure, and city reports identify South Vancouver as a priority for water access. A pool at sunset isn't a luxury. It's essential public health infrastructure. The motion is a practical, achievable step. It addresses inequality, aligns with city data, and supports families with recreation and heat relief. We ask you to vote in favor of this motion. South Vancouver has waited long enough. The need is clear, and the time to act is now. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Thank you, Councillor. My name is Brennan Bastiovansky, Vice Chair of the Elected Park Board. My position on this motion is other. I requested this motion be referred back to staff so they can it can align with the park board capital plan. The park board capital plan voted on April 7 is based on adopted strategies, primarily the community center strategy van play van splash in the field sports strategy and I requested Council commit to the $1.4 billion, 1 billion of which is investment in recreation and pools required to begin restoring and renewing the system. One concern is that the list of community centers in this motion does not align with the priorities determined by the community, nor does it follow existing strategies. The project list does not reflect where the need is greatest across the city. Community centers with higher needs are underrepresented or missing, and it's not clear how this list was developed as it does not align with the council adopted community center strategy or with growth areas in the city. Even senior park board staff and REFM staff have confirmed they did not provide this list of priorities to Council and that staff recommendations remain grounded in the publicly adopted community center strategy. The order of renewal in the park board capital plan was determined with the 24 community center associations representing hundreds of thousands of residents. This process enables communities to define the needs of their neighborhoods and how these spaces are used every day. Community center associations identified Hastings, Renfrew, and Kensington as the highest priorities for renewal, aging, heavily used facilities in areas of high demand. Though these are deliverable in the next term with proper funding of $400 million. And Vancouver is growing along the Canby corridor, Oak Ridge, and the Broadway plan, but the core infrastructure that supports daily life like community centers, sports fields, pools, and parks has not kept pace. This capital plan is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address that gap. In East Vancouver, facilities are aging and require renewal. In South Vancouver, we're seeing rapid population growth without matching expansion. The Park Board capital plan reflects this reality. And Britannia also requires significant investment over multiple capital plans, starting with the $200 million commitment needed now. Council's role is to fund these projects. The Park Board role is to set priorities based on condition, demand, and community need. And that balance has existed for over 135 years for a reason. So the capital plan priorities reflect system-wide needs and community input, not a list based on political discretion. This capital plan will shape the future livability of Vancouver, and this is the moment to get it right. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Okay, thank you.

All right, so speaker number nine is Rick Sidhu. Speaker nine is not on the line. Speaker number 10 has withdrawn. Speaker number 11 is Daniel Jackson. Hello, my name is Daniel Jackson. I represent the Strathcona Community Center Association, and I would just like to share the view from my neighborhood in Strathcona. As has been mentioned in 1922, the Park Board, working closely with 24 community center associations, released a community center strategy, which prioritized renewal of community centers based on their current condition, ability to meet service targets, equity, and site synergies. The Strathcona Community Center tied for third on that list with Hastings. Our building is over 50 years old. It does not have a pool, an ice rink, racket courts, a senior center, outdoor electric signage, outdoor space, or a parking lot. We share a gym with a school, which is only available for the community center on evenings and weekends. We have only two rooms that can be used during the day for programming. We are the closest community center to an estimate 75% of the social housing in Vancouver, serving a population which has few options for recreational or community space. We have one of the largest single-site childcare programs in the city and the largest food security program of any other community center and offer many programs for free for people who otherwise couldn't afford them. Our building is rented from the Vancouver School Board, which in practice means that the VSB, that neither the VSB nor the Park Board pay for improvements. In the last five years, the community association has to use its own funds for any building improvements. We make the best use of what we have, but in comparison to other community centers in Vancouver, it is not enough. We strongly support the recognition that significant capital funds are needed for our city to maintain, much less improve our existing infrastructure, particularly community centers. But we are stunned that the council is ignoring the recommendation of the Park Board and other community center associations, and for reasons we can only speculate, has dropped Strathcona from its capital plan list. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Thank you. Okay, speaker number 12 is Costa Chazish-Spiros.

Good afternoon, Chair, Mayor Sim, Councillors, and staff. Thank you for the opportunity to speak in support of the motion. My name is Costa Chatsy-Spiros, and I'm the VP and also the kids on the Showboat Society and also the chairperson of the Showboat Building Committee. My relationship with Show Boat started when I was at Kitts High in the 1980s. I'm one of the thousands of volunteers that have supported Show Boat's simple founding dream to be the Kitts Beach gathering place to enjoy free summertime entertainment. Although Show Boat does not receive arts and culture funding, the support and ongoing partnership with Parks and the City of Vancouver has always been stellar and is immensely appreciated. As the KITS renewal project shareholder, we've been engaged with staff in the assessment of the current state of the Showboat facility and considerations for its future requirements. Since 1935, Showboat has been a self-funded, turnkey operator delivering significant summer programs with over 100,000 visitors each season and over 1,000 performers each year. The current tired facility is over 75 years old and has extensive water and fire damage. Park staff have erected a creative and safe backdrop that allows us to continue using the stage in a limited capacity. For now, audiences are shielded from the damaged main building hidden behind the backdrop. By including Showboat in any rebuild, refurbishment, or modernization capital budget, we can continue being the summer heartbeat for thousands of local performers, all while focusing Showboat on producing free and easily accessible entertainment for everyone to enjoy. As Showboat sets course for our 100th year in 2035, we have an opportunity to protect Vancouver's cultural legacy and renew the theatre for future generations to proudly use and enjoy. For these reasons and comments you will hear from the next speaker, Showboat President Barry Lineback, I respectfully request that capital for Showboat be specifically included in the City of Vancouver 2027-2030 capital plan and any kids pool planning. Thank you.

Statement Watch

I was for, oh gosh, 50 years. That's okay.

But you are not right now.

Not right now. Right now, I'm representing Showboat.

Yeah, just a procedure question. Please go ahead.

Okay. Good afternoon, everyone. Mayor Sim, councillors. I am Barry Lineback, president of the Kitsilano Showboat Society. I'm also a 68-year volunteer at the Kitsilano Showboat. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight in support of the City of Vancouver Capital Plan motion. And we are respectfully requesting an amendment to please include the Vancouver Kitslanta Showboat as part of the budget and the Kitspool Plan. Since 1935, Showboat has been a beloved jewel in the City of Vancouver. You all know Showboat, I'm sure, and I'm sure that you all have fond memories of attending performances with family members or possibly even performing on our stage. In our 91-year history, we have facilitated over 4,500 nights of entertainment in over 8,000 diverse groups. Showboat is and has always been all-inclusive. Showboat is also the leader in promoting the performing arts in Vancouver and is run by dedicated volunteers at zero operating cost to the city. In our 91 years, we have never missed a season, not even through wars, renovations, king tide floods, or even COVID-19. But then we had the devastating fire of 2023. The theater was gutted, burned out, and it was a shock to all Vancouverites. The community support was overwhelming. The building was deemed to be unusable, and the entire site was slated to be demolished. The city of Vancouver and parks were eventually able to save the stage, two dressing rooms, and two washrooms. But the larger center portion of the facility, the building was totally lost, totally burned out, holes through the ceiling, rain getting in, it's done. Despite this, Showboat carried on, and in 2023, we still produced a season in front of a burned out building. This year, we are back to producing 50 nights of free summer entertainment over the summer. In our 91 years, Showboat has proven itself, and I believe has earned a spot in the City of Vancouver budget. We are respectfully requesting that a motion be made to name the Kitsilano Showboat in the capital budget and in the City of Vancouver Kits Pool Plan. and to allocate funds towards a new showboat theater. We are in this all together and securing a home for a Vancouver institution that has proven itself in over its 91-year history has stood the test of time. Thank you very much for your time.

Statement Watch

Thank you, Barry. Speaker 14 is Jerry Faust.

Hello. Yeah, please call Jerry. Okay, thank you. My name is Jerry Fast. I chair the Association Presidents Group representing 19 Vancouver Community Center Associations. I am a resident of Vancouver. I speak in opposition to the motion, in particular, the list of five community centers you have identified for renewal. First, I would like to thank Council for committing $400 million for the renewal of some of our aging community center facilities. much needed. Our objection concerns the five centers you have identified for renewal. These five as a group are not the centers identified as the five priorities for renewal in the community center strategy completed in 2022. Community center presidents worked closely for over many months with park board staff and a specialist consulting firm to do an exhaustive in-depth study of each center. I think the team did a brilliant job of creating an objective evidence based basis for prioritizing renewals by identifying four guiding principles and 14 criteria to give expression and guidance for the application of these principles in each community center context. Numerical values were assigned to each criterion. and an overall numerical score was assigned to each center. From this detailed analysis, the top five centers identified for renewal are Hastings, Kensington, Renfrew, Strathcona, and Thunderbird. It is noteworthy that all five are located in East Vancouver. This result confirms the analysis in the 2019 Van Play Master Plan. which showed that there has been, historically, a serious underfunding of community center infrastructure in East Vancouver. Only two Eastside centers are on your list. Two others are on the list of 11 centers identified, but are much further down as priorities. And one of your centers is not even on the list of 11. None of these three associations were consulted before this decision was made. All three associations support the community center strategy priorities. We were disappointed to hear Mayor Sim claim that the data in the strategy is outdated. The complex and nuanced analysis in the 600-page strategy report has not changed. The same centers identified there are the priorities for renewal today. We want an objective evidence-based method for identifying priorities for community-centered renewal. We do not want decisions about major infrastructure investments based on political considerations. For the communities left out, this looks like favoritism and special treatment. We ask that you reconsider your priorities for renewal to align with the strategy.

Presidents are upset that the many months of work given to developing an evidence-based strategy has been ignored by Council. Thank you for your consideration.

Statement Watch

Yes, good afternoon, Chair and Council, Mayor and staff. Yeah, I'm speaking mostly in opposition to this motion. I feel that the amount, you know, $400 million put towards the capital plan for renewal of community centres is not enough and i'd also like to point out that earlier on everyone was talking about how you know the park board should have its own jurisdiction its own say so i think it's kind of interesting this feels a little bit like putting the proverbial cart before the horse to do this kind of motion this way instead of consulting with staff and the park board as i think was at least the practice when i was on the park board yes i'm a resident of vancouver former park board commissioner um sorry i forgot to say that just kind of got home after spending part of the day there at city hall um yes and so i think that that basically you know it as um you know uh jerry fast just mentioned it uh you know corrupts the list that we spent so much effort you know during my term creating that list of priorities and in this new list uh basically pretty much ignores all that groundwork that we did for for at least a couple of years to to get that uh lined up um yeah so so I think we could also do more like if you're if you're gonna fund this like fund it to the tune of you know 800 million to a billion you know more in line with what the park board uh has has asked for and uh yeah I think I think it would be better to uh not get into motions on the capital plan until internal discussions have been concluded between the two boards. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Marjorie Duda, and I'm a Vancouver resident representing the Mount Pleasant Community Centre Association. We're not in favour of the proposed motion as it stands. I'm here to speak about Mount Pleasant Pool in the context of the 2027-2030 capital plan. We've been advocating for this project since 2003, long before it closed in 2009. That's over two decades of plans, reports, and repeated assurances that it's coming. And yet, here we are again, with no mention of Mount Pleasant Pool in the current plan before Council. What's difficult right now is not just the delay, it's the uncertainty, as it's not in alignment with long-standing priorities in the aquatic strategy, which Mount Pleasant Pool is featured prominently in. At the same time, new aquatic proposals are being introduced, and communities are left wondering what happens to projects that have already been planned and prioritized. Mount Pleasant Pool is ready. It is approved in a permanent designated park. It requires no costly land acquisition and has gone through extensive consultation. This means it can be delivered relatively quickly, providing a much-needed public amenity that years of time and resources have gone into planning for. Sidelining the aquatic strategy risks further delays, not just for this project but for many others, including the new ones that have just been introduced and would need years of planning to reach this stage. The motion notes that the last new full-service indoor public pool was built in 2011. But it's important to recognize that the only three remaining outdoor swimming pools in Vancouver were originally built in the 1930s. Meanwhile, five outdoor pools that were built in the 50s and 60s have been demolished and not replaced. So no new pools, only fewer pools. As a result, Vancouver is now the most underserved major city in Canada for outdoor swimming pools. This is an essential investment in a fast-growing community that is weighted and continues to rely on aging, hard-to-access facilities that no longer meet demand. It's an opportunity to provide cooling and recreation within the city's net zero emissions policy and much needed access to public washrooms that are lacking in this community park. This project creates equitable access for people who do not have private alternatives or even access to the aging waterfront pools that are at continued risk of damage from sea level rise. Mount Pleasant Pool should not continue to be deferred or lost in shifting priorities. as it benefits the broader community, not only Mount Pleasant. We're asking Council to ensure that established commitments like Mount Pleasant Pool, with 20 years of plans and promises, are included for capital funding so that we can begin to address the aquatic services gap and the inequities identified in the aquatic strategy. Thank you, Mayor and Council, for your time.

Statement Watch

Speaker 17 is not on the line. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. My name is Mark Halleck. I'm a resident of Vancouver. And until very recently, I worked for the Park Board. and the City of Vancouver for nearly 12 years leading food and beverage operations across parks. I am not here to support or oppose this motion. I'm here to speak to alignment, clarity, added funding, and execution. I want to begin by acknowledging the fact that being here is not easy. Earlier this year, my role was eliminated under the zero means zero policy. Despite the fact that my team and I had built a portfolio generating significant and growing revenue for the city. Investment in parks is absolutely necessary, but it must be disciplined and coordinated. At the same time, this motion is being considered. Park Board has already unanimously supported a capital request in the range of $1.4 billion. So the question becomes, how do these directions align? Why is there a billion-dollar difference in capital funding? Without clarity, we risk layering new priorities on top of existing commitments, and that is where confusion and loss of public confidence begin. Second, on prioritization. We already have a strong evidence-based framework in place. Van Play, Van Splash, and the Community Centre Strategy. These identify priority facilities such as Hastings, Kensington, and Renfrew Community Centres based on condition, usage, and equity. This work reflects years of planning, analysis, and public consultation. If we move away from those priorities, it needs to be clearly explained. Otherwise, we risk undermining both the process and the trust behind it. Third, on efficiency, this motion includes upgrades to Second Beach washrooms. Those upgrades are already funded and moving forward within the existing capital plan. I would encourage council to remove that duplication so capital is directed where it's actually needed. Finally, on revenue and long-term sustainability, during my time at the Park Board, I brought forward a comprehensive food and beverage proposal designed to position F&B as a leading revenue stream for parks. That approach was not embraced by senior management, despite overwhelming support from hospitality professionals and elected officials. was also the architect behind the Kitsilano concession transformation with Batch, turning an underperforming space into what is now recognized as one of the best waterfront patios in the city. That example shows what is possible when innovation and execution are aligned. Similar opportunities exist across golf operations and concessions.

These are valuable public assets, but without a reinvestment and modern strategy, performance declines and opportunity is lost. And that matters because capital investment and revenue strategy must work together. So I'll close with this. We have the roadmap. It needs alignment between planning, funding, and execution. That's where success will come from. We need to follow it properly and with discipline. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Thank you, Council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this motion. My name is Amir Bajekian. I am a resident of Olympic Village for the past 14 years, and I want to speak in opposition to this motion. As many of my fellow Vancouverites in this meeting said, this motion is not in line with the priorities already set in the community center engaged strategies as prepared by the park board. And to me, what matters is that we got to follow procedures and we got to set our priorities right and we got to talk about what's missing. So the procedure, I think it's the right way to go about these things is that you've got to start from the park ward where the expertise lies and where they engage the stakeholders, which includes the community center associations. They analyze where the growth is, where the needs are. And with the status of our current infrastructure, when we see crumbling infrastructure in this city, it's a ticking time bomb. And if we don't follow proper procedure, it would be impacting all of us. So it is very surprising to see that Roundhouse, Harrisdale, and Dunbar are there, while Renfrew is not listed, despite being listed as a priority for the community center upgrades and renewal. And we're talking about renewal, not just... which can mean anything. Just a new paint can be renovation. I would like to also mention about what's missing. Like we talked about the washrooms. Just one personal example of what could be in this motion, but it's not, is I live in Olympic Village and my father stays with me, a 17 to 7-year-old senior man, who takes daily walks from Olympic Village all the way to Granville Island. And he's a cancer patient, and there's no washroom, not even a single public washroom in that path. Another example that could be covered is covered space in parks, but it's not there. And the last one that many people mentioned is... you know, the 50-meter pool. But that's not in this plan either. So I would like to ask this council to reject this motion, to defer all these decisions to the motion that has already been voted by the park board, and let's do things the right way. The park board is delegated to do that. Thank you so much.

Statement Watch

Speaker 20 is not on the line. 21 is Derek O'Keefe. Hello. Hi, I'm Derek O'Keefe. I'm a longtime Vancouver resident. My family's lived in Fairview for the last 10 plus years. We've lived in most other neighborhoods. We've been renting here for a while, and we've been waiting to be able to walk over and enjoy the Mount Pleasant community pool, which has been promised to the broader neighborhood. And really, it's right in the middle of the Broadway corridor You know, densification and growth the city is experiencing. This has been overdue. It's an overdue promise for 16 years and counting. So I think given that this motion related to the capital plan talks about making ambitious and badly needed investments in community centers and pools. It's really crucial that we include Mount Pleasant pool replacements along with Sunset Pool and other overdue infrastructure. We're really dealing with a massive deficit of social infrastructure in the city of Vancouver. The previous speaker mentioned covered spaces. I'm a basketball dad and volunteer coach, and every other city in the Pacific Northwest, even smaller cities like Bellingham, they have covered spaces, covered outdoor spaces, either at schools or in parks. where kids can play on rainy days. We really haven't invested in that at all. I think we have one Tai Chi structure in East Vancouver. We could expand a network of those and also multi-sport facilities like Burnaby has two or three brand new ones. So we've got to catch up. We're in deficits. And I think the Broadway plan is really lacking in amenities already. And we're going to add 60,000 residents, hopefully. to this corridor you know if the plan is implemented and if folks can afford uh to move in and if you do look i'd encourage uh counselors and and mayor to look at the van splash report i think it's a 2019 report they have a map of all the city's pools both indoor and outdoor and there's a huge uh void an empty space uh in the sort of heart of the city uh right through the broadway corridor so we don't have public pools uh we're lacking in other amenities mountain pleasant fairview South Granville in the other direction towards East Van and Grandview Woodlands. We need to be able to make serious investments in pools, rinks, community centers, and it can't just happen when we have Olympics or, you know, FIFA spending and that sort of thing. So committing to investing in the overdue pool at Mount Pleasant is a win-win for the City of Vancouver. There's lots more. It's all in the Park Board report. Let's follow the way things are going to do. The Park Board has not been abolished, and the City Council needs to act with respect. to decision-making as it's normally done with the capital plan. So there's lots to improve here, and I urge you in particular to consider the Mount Pleasant pool, which has been a gap for over 15 years now.

Statement Watch

Speaker 23 is Bin Chuan. Dear Mr. Chair, I am Binh Tran, chairman of the Vietnamese Cultural Activity Center, founding member of the Little Saigon Vancouver Foundation, and member of the Vietnamese community in Vancouver, most established on 80 decade on 20th century. And for a long time, after we landed on the Vancouver soil, Vietnamese like me try to learn and working hard to afford the basic things for life. But most important, we found our Canadian society with multicultural legacy. Give us happy life and opportunity to develop better life standards. In the same way, sometimes our community keeps the traditional activity to join the multicultural legacy of Canada. In 2013, with help of MLA, PM, and Vancouver City Council, we succeeded to take the name Little Saigon Vancouver Foundation for the business area on Kingsway between Fraser Street and 9th Street. In 2017, we succeeded to stand the Vietnamese boat people statue on the McAuley Park on the corner of Kingsway and Fraser Street. But in over 46 years being in Vancouver, Vietnamese community still no home. Until now, in 46 years, we still rent home from correction center. render hall from Italy Center, render hall from Polish Hall for traditional activity like Lunar New Year Festival, Lantern Children Festival, and Vietnamese Ancestor Commemoration, et cetera. In general, in 46 years, Vietnamese community has been a homeless community. Longest time homeless in Vancouver history. Today, it might be a good day for us while Vancouver City Council take a look on an idea and project back to basic, back to community.

Right now, outside of the Vancouver City building, Cherry Tree Blossom make Vancouver becoming the beautiful city in the world. Back to basic. Back to community. We fertilize the crops of the Vancouver society in near future. Because community society is the heart of the multicultural legacy. And the least, but not least, our Vietnamese community. We have the home. We will have the home, and our home, and our homeless status will be push back to the history. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Bing.

Statement Watch

Yes. Thank you, chair and council, for giving us an opportunity to speak on this motion. uh my name is paul cheng i'm the first vice president from the renfrew park community association we support the principle that many of our community centers are aging undersized and struggling to keep pace with population growth and indeed the need for discipline prioritization And we're glad to see community centers like Hastings and Kensington also identified by Park Board in their comprehensive community center strategy 2022 as priorities for renewal. But we are confused and where we now speak in opposition to the motion. But Renfrew, which ranked priority number two under that same report, was not even mentioned or include in the city list at all. I also want to highlight that last July, Vancouver City Council had approved the Rupert and Renfrew SkyTrain Station area development plan. The development allows for significant density, including towers up to 45 stories of potential for 10,000 new homes. In early January, the city also approved zoning changes for six-story multifamily residence building covering a large area surrounding both stations. And our community centers, it's just within a few blocks between these two stations. I spoke at council meeting about our challenges at that time and the impact that development will have on our center. Now, we rank number two under the Park Board renewal for many reasons. We serve a neighborhood of over 50,000 residents. Our center was 62 years old. We have a serious seismic risk as we are situated next to Still Creek. We have three elementary school and a high school within walking distance. Our programs are consistently full and we have a water leak in the building that we cannot fix. So was Council thinking that there would be development funding for Renfrew Community Centers instead? But we do know that the community amenity funds were not available and the amenity cost charges will be very limited indeed. I'm a volunteer and our goal is to serve our community needs and we need to plan for these pending population expansion with our already old and congested building. I would ask the city to reconsider and work with Park Board to prioritize the list and put Renfrew back on and enable us to support the health and the growth of the Renfrew Collingwood area. So thank you for this opportunity to raise our concern. I just want to add this little note in closing. As an apolitical citizen, I observed earlier a discussion about park board responsibility, funding of the lifeguard. I'm just very curious, and there's a bit hypocritical there, why park board is not included in prioritizing the community center's renewals.

Statement Watch

Good evening, everyone. My name is Katie Finley.

Sorry, Katie, before you continue, can I ask if you're a resident of Vancouver? Just a procedure question.

I'm not a resident of Vancouver. I'm a business owner.

Yeah, that's okay. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Katie Finley, and I'm the founder of Vancouver Performing Stars, better known as VPF. Since 2012, VPS has been a community staple, providing high-caliber arts training to over 1,500 students weekly across our city's community centers and our own ADC Black Box Theater and Performing Arts Center in Mount Pleasant. I want to take this opportunity to thank city staff, the Parks Board, and this council. Your belief in VPS has allowed us to bring accessible, high-caliber performing arts programs to every corner of Vancouver. I speak to you today. As a facility operator who knows the fundamental truth, quality drives demand, and that should be accessible to all. For 15 years, VPS has provided anchored programming in centers like Kensington, Hastings, and Renfrew Park. I've seen firsthand how these aging spaces can fail to serve families and generate revenue. I support the prioritization of these rebuilds and the transition to construction phase, ensuring that these essential facility improvements move beyond the planning stage and become a reality in this capital plan. By working with proven community anchors to create high spec multi-use venues, you are investing in assets that are revenue positive from day one. Your motion for the 2027-2030 capital plan identifies an urgent need for discipline prioritization. I believe that by working with proven community anchors to create high spec multi-use venues, you are investing in assets that are revenue positive from day one. By including technical specs in a multi-use space, such as sprung floors, acoustic soundproofing, mirrors with black curtains, lighting, and retractable seating, you transform a generic multipurpose room into an ordinary studio for use of after-school programs into a premium venue for theater companies, school productions, school groups, improv troops, film rentals, specialized programs, and even weddings. We must also address the economic reality of today's families. With rising costs, parents increasingly prioritize high-caliber programming in modern environments. In an era of full-time employment and subsidized childcare, families require significant lead time to manage budgets and logistics. I would like to see creative activation of these renewed spaces through year-round youth programming, flexible rental options and users, and adaptable registration models. I'd also like to urge Council to expand the current motion to include Kitsilano Show Boat in the Kitsilano Pool replacement. We see an immense opportunity to preserve this cultural gem by integrating a modernized weather-protected stage that features a multi-use backstage studio. Such a facility would serve as the year-round revenue engine for arts organizations like CPS, providing stability needed to directly subsidize and protect the Show Boat's beloved free summer season for generations to come.

We must ensure these centers are built to serve as the high-functioning, revenue-positive hubs our city needs.

Statement Watch

Hi, this is Andrea.

Please go ahead, Andrea.

Sorry, I'm just on the bus right now, but I'm hopping off in a minute. My name is Andrea. I'm a Vancouver resident in Hastings Sunrise, and I spend a lot of time at the Hastings Community Center, usually two or three times a week at the fitness center and the occasional event there as well. I love my community center. and it's also in very real need uh renewal it's in the basement of the fitness center is in the basement of the building uh split between two rooms the weight room is at capacity most of the time and the need for a bigger space uh more and upgraded equipment and a more functional for the space is very apparent to me every time i'm there i'm really pleased to hear that the vancouver to commit 400 million dollars to the renewal of pacing and and rent through. But I guess I was confused by Mayor Simms' announcement that the $400 million would be designated for Roundhouse, Carisdale, and Dunbar as well. And removing rent through seemed kind of confusing to me. And I guess I'm concerned that Hastings Community Center is also at risk of losing designated funds. The Park Board recommendations are in line with the community center strategy report from 2022 which came out of a lengthy consultation process i'm concerned that in this election year financial commitments are being made for political reasons rather than in keeping with the recommendations from the strategy from the strategy report and the parks board that are based on well demonstrated community needs so i just want to call on City Council to commit to prioritizing the rebuilding of Hastings Community Center as well as Renfrew and Kensington as recommended and to ensure that the city's financial designations reflect this commitment. Thanks for your time.

Statement Watch

Thank you. Speaker number 27 is Anthony Abrahams.

Hello. I'm Anthony Abrahams, founder of Kits Pool Swimmers. Thank you, Mayor and Council, for the opportunity to talk. I want to emphasize the global significance of Kits Pool and the strategic importance of its renewal within the 2027-2030 capital plan. Kits Pool Swimmers is a grassroots, volunteer-led community group formed to honor and enhance the Kits Pool experience. With thousands of supporters and a collaborative relationship with the City of Vancouver and its Parks Board, the group is committed to ensuring that the renewal of Kitts Pool honors this experience and elevates its legacy. Our vision is to create the greatest swimming pool experience in the world, open year-round and powered by architectural innovation and sustainable technologies. We believe Kitts Pool and its surroundings can become the signature image of the City of Vancouver, akin to the Sydney Opera House. Kitspool is more than a swimming facility. It's a civic icon, a global landmark, and a public asset that embodies the spirit of Vancouver. At 137.5 meters, Kitspool is the longest outdoor saltwater pool in North America, a defining feature of the city's identity, and a point of pride for generations of residents and visitors. The Kitspool experience cannot be replicated. Its length, oceanfront setting, and history create a distinctive and irreplaceable destination. Transforming Kitts Pool to a year-round operation is a smart, future-focused investment in both community well-being and city infrastructure. By maximizing the use of an already iconic facility, we ensure that the public dollars go further, delivering greater return on investment, increasing access, and relieving pressure on other overcapacity aquatic centers in the city. A year-round KITS pool transforms seasonal underutilization into continuous community benefit, making it a cornerstone of equitable, efficient, and sustainable planning. The theme, 137.5, represents both the length of the pool and our shared commitment to go the distance in its renewal. This defining dimension is critical not only to preserving the physical identity of the pool, but also to protecting the exceptional swimming experience it offers. Go the distance is our rallying cry to honor the kids pool experience and push beyond conventional limits in the pool's renewal. We believe that renewal is not just about replacement. It's about building a visionary future that honors what kids pool is and what it can become. The renewal of Kits Pool is an opportunity to create a showcase, not just of architecture and technology, but of civic collaboration. This collaboration can deliver an outcome that neither of us could achieve alone. A world-class facility that reflects the values, creativity, and aspirations of the City of Vancouver. The Kits Pool renewal can be a beacon of civic ambition, innovation, sustainability, and inclusion. Kitspool's renewal is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for you all to make a decision on. Working together, we can make this project a global model for city-community partnerships, and the outcome will shape the city's landscape, reputation, and community experience for the next 75 years.

Thank you very much.

Statement Watch

Thank you, Anthony. Speaker 28 is Ning Nguyen. So I understand you are representing a group of speakers, right? Yeah, so you are representing a group of speakers.

Only for myself.

So if you want to speak five minutes, you need to identify yourself. Okay, please go ahead. Yeah, that's okay.

Dear Mayor and Councillors, the Vietnamese Association was established in 1980, five years after the fall of South Vietnam, into the hands of the communist regime. I am representing the Little Saigon Vancouver Foundation and would love to ask the support of all councillors for the $100,000 to build the interior of the Vietnamese Cultural Center. For 45 years, we always have to rent any space available in Vancouver to organize the Lunar New Year and the seven events yearly. We also using the place to buy, sorry, we also using the money to buy the equipment, tables, chairs, books for the Vietnamese class in the Vietnamese cultural center. Your incredible support for us in Vietnam. our Vietnamese community will be deeply appreciated. Thank you so much. Linh Nguyen. Thank you, Linh. Okay, speaker 29 is Matt Penn. Matt? Okay, we're going to come back. Speaker 30 is Jaspreet Verdi. Hi, everyone. My name is Jas Verde, and I'm a Park Board Commissioner, and I'm proud to rise in strong support of this motion, and in particular, the long overdue investment in a new swimming pool at Sunset. For years, residents in South Van have spoken with clarity and consistency. They are asking for a modern, accessible recreational facility, and a pool at Sunset remains at the top of the list. It's not a nice to have. It's an essential infrastructure. Pools are where children learn life-saving skills. They are where seniors maintain their health, mobility, and social connection. They are where families, especially dense, growing neighborhoods, can access affordable health and recreation close to home. Yet today, that access is not equitable across the city. Sunset lost its pool with a clear promise for its return, and later they lost the pool at YMCA. And still the replacement has not materialized. The gap is not just an inconvenience, it's a failure to deliver on a commitment that was made long ago. The Park Board has already recognized this need.

Statement Watch

I moved a motion last year for a pool at sunset, and it was supported by all the commissioners, and it was passed. And various community members wrote in support of this. There were members of Parliament. There were members of the Legislative Assembly. There was the Sunset Community Center, Langara College, seniors groups, local temples, the Punjabi Market Collective, and SVNH, the South Vancouver Neighborhood House, just to name a few. And the demand continues to grow. In just a short time, the Sunset Pool Coalition has about 3,500 signatures, and that was just started a couple days ago. And to those who suggest South Vancouver is not an underserved area, I suggest you drive through the area, you see the parks, you see the facilities there, and compare them to the rest of the city. This is why the motion for the $400 million investment is such an inspiring and significant one, and it comes at the right time. This is a historic commitment. It's unprecedented in its scale, but equally important, and it is achievable. Only weeks ago, I saw a motion for $1.43 billion, and it was an ask at Parks and Recreation for infrastructure. While this is ambitious, it came without a clear and credible funding plan. There was little discussion on where this money was going to come from. Was it going to come from increased property taxes? Was it going to be borrowing? But this plan is realistic, and it comes with a plan. And we know money is going to come, and it's… That's your time, Josh. Sorry, that's it? Yeah, that's your time.

Statement Watch

Please go ahead. Hi. Thank you all for this opportunity. My name is Amar Randhawa. I'm a board member with South Asian Community Hub. I'm also someone who's been involved quite deeply in the recovery community in Vancouver. But more so, I'm a lifelong Vancouverite, born and raised in East Vancouver, Southeast Vancouver. Kensington Community Centre, you know, was our community centre when we were kids. We'd walk up that street and we'd jump in that pool there. We'd ride around those parks, ride our bikes on those streets. So I'm coming here today to speak in strong favor, you know, to support the Sunset Pool, but more so on the bigger piece around the investment in community centers. Community centers are the heart, you know, of our community. In a time, I believe, personally, you know, where health and wellness, you know, is a priority for a healthy community, for a strong community, these are the investments that should be made, and they should continue to be supported by all members of council. You know, we're facing unprecedented times, as many of you know as elected officials, with, you know, economic headwinds all over the place, uncertainty, you know, throughout communities. But that's a time, you know, when we know that supporting our communities through, you know, investments in health and wellness is critical. So, you know, as I mentioned, you know, as the speaker before me, Jazz, mentioned, you know, it's not just a pool and it's not just a... community center it is our community you know i have my young two young kids now who i raise and we had all these community centers and uh and that's the places where you know we can be without uh you know um the distractions that are out there you know day and night and as i mentioned in the onset you know i i do work uh you know and i don't say work it's more service to many, many individuals who are going through many struggles in their life at this moment, through mental health, through addiction, through other pieces, housing, you know, myriad of issues. And, you know, I see it day to day when they go to the community center and they have that space there, you know, how much it helps them, you know, as well too, right? And so I'm not here to get into the nuances of, you know, the divide in certain areas or certain neighbourhoods. But I'm here just as a person who's, you know, as I mentioned, a lifelong Vancouverite and who's got a deep love for this city and someone who's, you know, involved in the ecosystem of mental health and wellness. And so the support for the Sunset Pool and the larger, you know, initiatives around the community centers is critical and needed and hopefully supported by all you guys and everyone here.

Statement Watch

Not on the line. Speaker 33 is Zhuka. Hi, this is Yuka. Yeah, please go ahead. Okay. yes i said yes thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak on on behalf of this opportunity sorry my name is yuka varma i'm the hastings community center board member and a resident of vancouver I think what my main concern is, we've now got two capital plans, one from the Parks Board in regards to addressing the community center needs. And what I'm finding is that there seems to be no congruency between what the city's planning for the renewal of community center facilities and what the Parks Board is aiming at. We've got two separate lists that don't seem to indicate really in terms, especially with the city, in terms of WHAT METRICS THEY USED TO IDENTIFY THE FIVE COMMUNITY CENTERS THAT ARE ON THIS CURRENT MOTION LIST COMPARED TO WHAT THE PARKS BOARD PUT FORWARD ON APRIL 7TH FOR THEIR MOTION TO RENEW PARKS BOARD FACILITIES. so the reason i mentioned that as past president of the hastings community association i sat over a year on the parksport capital facility renewal committee along with 19 other association presidents we had a rigorous analysis with parksport senior planners and the refm asset management team on how the community center facility renewal strategy would work The whole key was to use evidence-based data to ensure equity. That was the whole key. And the reason you wanted equity is you wanted to eliminate community centers from competing with each other in terms of who got the priority on their facility renewal. And you know what was truly amazing is that all 19 association presidents reached a consensus following the community center strategy report. It was like, how often can you say that ever occurred at that level? The renewal for all community centers was listed and the priority for the top three community centers were indicated, including Hastings, Kensington, and Renfrew Community Center. and the other element i just wanted to mention that we also learned from the past and current projects such as the renewed center at marple and the center at oakridge and what was also being considered for the north east falls creek and the debacle that turned out to be britannia's ruin right now So I guess what I'm really saying is I want I want somewhere the city staff to come to the parks board and explain or at least come to the association presence meeting to explain how these two capital plans diverge so much relative to how much was put in, how much effort was put into both of them.

Statement Watch

Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can. Please go ahead. Okay, thank you. My name is Linda Dallow, and I'm a member of the Hastings Sunrise Community, and I'm a board member on the Hastings Community Association. Thank you, Mayor and Council, for this opportunity to speak. I echo a lot of what others have said, including Aaron Jasper and Yuko Avorma and several others. um i support the rebuild of async's community center however i don't support this particular motion 3 as it stands because of the fact that it doesn't align with the community center strategy plan for the 20 27 20 30 capital plan um I was greatly encouraged by the Park Board passing a recommendation to commit $400 million in the next capital plan for the renewal of three community centers, namely Hastings, Kensington, and Ren Group. This was in line with the community center strategy report. However, I'm concerned that $400 million is not sufficient enough to rebuild five community centers that were listed, and these community centers are not the same ones that were in the strategy plan. So I'm a little bit concerned. In general, I want to make sure that the async is completely rebuilt because our community is growing massively with lots of new builds, multiplexes, high rises, et cetera. The center is almost 90 years old, and we really need a larger, safer facility with more capacity for future growth. so anyways sorry i'm actually just outside of the meeting at the news center right now um so anyways i just wanted to say that um i don't agree with the motion standing as it is and uh would like to see it referred back to park board uh especially in regards to the list of community centers that are being focused on um it's only fair that the strategy plan be followed as such And yeah, that's about it. Thank you for letting us speak to this.

Statement Watch

Hello. My name is Sasha Burton, and I live in the Renfrew neighborhood, which is situated on unseated Musqueam, Squamish, and TTsleil-Waututh territories. And my position on this motion is other. I'm calling today to bring further attention to the list of community centers highlighted by Council for investment in this capital plan, as well as to the scale of investment that's required. In my day job, I advocate for evidence-backed policy that would improve quality of life for people living below the poverty line in BC. And I can say with confidence that robust investment in community centers is a worthwhile endeavor. These spaces provide low and no-cost opportunities for people to gather year-round while strengthening connection between neighbors and improving access to exercise, food security, and personal development. While the $400 million for community centers in this capital plan is a significant and commendable sum, it falls far short of the $1.4 billion in renewal funds that the Park Board has recommended to Council. It's crucial to acknowledge that while all community center doors are open to residents from across the city, there are spaces, particularly in South and East Vancouver, that are more often used by low- and moderate-income households. There's an obvious and unfortunate discrepancy between the community centers that the Park Board and community center associations have deemed as the most urgently in need of renewal and the centers that are prioritized in this motion. In particular, Thunderbird Community Center, Strathcona Community Center, and the Renfrew Community Center are all left out of this proposed capital plans investment strategy, despite being three of the top five community centers in need of investment and renewal. As I mentioned, I'm a resident of the Renfrew neighborhood, and I'm a regular at my community center. I've seen firsthand that our community center is where my neighbors get together to swim, dance, play soccer, practice yoga, share meals, and blow off steam. And I know that the Renfrew community center is a well-loved and well-used space, but it needs improvement. Our community centers are where we pop our isolated bubbles and remind ourselves what it's like to live, grow, and break a sweat alongside our neighbors. People in Renfrew, Strathcona, and Hastings-Sunrise deserve spaces that will continue to meet our needs, as do residents across East and South Vancouver, whose community centers and spaces have not made it into this plan. The City's capital plan must ensure investments are made where they are most needed, not just where it's politically convenient. I urge Council to reassess your list of priority spaces to more directly align with community need, and I echo the call to refer this motion back to staff. It's imperative that council heeds the guidance of your colleagues on Park Board, listens to community center associations, and works to meet the needs of the people who use these aging and vital community spaces. It's council's job to meet the needs of the many, not this fall's most likely voters. Thanks. Thank you. Speaker 36, Jim Jones.

Statement Watch

Am I on, please? Yes, please go ahead, Jim. Oh, great. Thank you. Hi. Good evening, councillor and mayors. I'm Jim Jones. I am a resident of Vancouver. I'm vice president of the Vancouver Field Sports Federation, the VFSF. I'm speaking today on behalf of our members and delegates representing 14 different amateur field sports and 25,000 plus amateur sport participants across the city of Vancouver. We are supportive of the 2027-2030 capital plan motion provided there are amendments to include the renewal and improvements of sports fields and park space in the city. VFSFF is a 20-plus year umbrella advocacy organization that works to improve the quality and quantity of organized amateur field support resources in Vancouver and to inform both the Parks Board and City Council policy and resource allocation procedures. We are very glad that the City Council motion and the Park Board motion of April 7th recognize that community infrastructure and facilities in Vancouver are aging and not being renewed and expanded to meet the growing city population. As our population increases and our limited facilities, including sports fields, are not renewed, it leads to limited playable sports field hours for Vancouver residents, both adults and children. Without additional capital investments, not all residents who want to be involved in amateur or recreational sports will be able to do so. We are glad that the Beaconsfield Park artificial turf upgrade is included in this motion today. The addition of a new artificial turf field with lighting will be very helpful to rectangular sports field users such as soccer, rugby, and even ultimate. It will significantly increase the number of playable weekly hours for these sports in Vancouver. It is appreciated. But as the only sports field project mentioned, we need to upgrade more existing gravel fields and artificial turf fields and renew existing park sports fields, grass and otherwise, to keep up with aging and decaying facilities. The City of Vancouver, via council decisions and park board decisions, has been underfunding sports fields and related park infrastructure projects in the past few years. We need to do more than just essential maintenance on our existing sports fields. And with population growth in Vancouver, we need park renewal projects to provide more sports fields in the same physical footprint. As outlined in the Park Board's sports field strategy in 2024, we request that funding be allocated for projects such as the future John Henry Trout Lake artificial turf field, the Columbia Park renewal, which includes a new sports field, a future cricket field at Douglas Park East, and improvements at existing grass sports fields. Considering that the beacon field sports field and related work will cost $9.8 million just for a single field, it's clear that a four-year capital plan needs to allocate more for sports field upgrade renewals. I suggest $40 million would be an excellent start. We realize that the Park Board manages park space and community sports fields in Vancouver, but City Council ultimately controls the capital plan. We've requested the Council support an amendment to clearly add sports fields and park space renewal to this motion. On behalf of the 25,000-plus amateur recreational outdoor sports participants in Vancouver, I thank you for your time.

Statement Watch

Hi, thank you. This is Angela Hare, Vancouver Park Board Commissioner. Good afternoon or good evening. I'm here today, I'm supporting or expressing my support for moving this motion forward with funding for all facilities and infrastructure. I especially want to speak... about the sunset pool. So I would like you guys to move forward with the funding for an outdoor pool at sunset and to briefly place a historic record on file as well. The history of sunset outdoor pool is well documented. In the early 2000s, Vancouver Park Board adopted an aquatic renewal strategy that identified smaller outdoor pools, including sunset, for closure at the end of their functional lifespan. On January 29, 2007, a park board report confirmed this direction. That report also referenced the 2005 board resolution stating that if the Sunset community identified retaining an outdoor pool as a priority, staff would consider extending the life of existing pool and identifying capital funding for a replacement. On January 9, 2007, planning committee minutes recorded community concern. Residents expressed that they had not been given a meaningful opportunity to advocate for their pool and requested that an outdoor pool be considered in the future capital planning. Despite this, the pool was ultimately closed at the end of its lifespan. On November 16, 2015, the Sunset Park revised concept plan confirmed that public consultation continued to show strong interest in water amenities at Sunset. However, staff indicated that a... POOL WOULD NOT BE INCLUDED AT THE SITE AND WOULD INSTEAD BE ADDRESSED THROUGH A BROADER AQUATIC STRATEGY. ON OCTOBER 28, 2019, THE VAN SLASH AQUATIC STRATEGY FORMALLY CONFIRMED THAT THE SUNSET OUTDOOR POOL HAD BEEN DECOMMISSIONED AT THE END OF ITS FUNCTIONAL LIFESPAN. On March 31st, 2025, the Park Board directed staff to review the historical context of the pool's removal, including any past commitments related to its replacement. So I know I am supporting this motion, but I wanted to highlight the pool at Sunset and how this community has been... I think they've... They've been not serviced properly. They were not heard and they lost a swimming pool. So I'm looking forward to a pool at sunset. And so the record shows that three things clearly that there was a policy decision to close the pool. There was consistent and documented community demand for water access and there was a stated pathway to consider replacement. What we are considering today is not new. It is a continuation of a longstanding community request, and this is an opportunity to follow through. So I do support this motion. Thank you so much.

Statement Watch

Thank you, Cushing. I'm a Vancouver resident representing myself in opposition to the motion as currently written. First, thank you to staff and elected officials at both City Hall and Park Board for your work on the capital plan. It's a critical process for moving the past four years of decisions into implementation. I also appreciate the increased attention to the need to fund recreation infrastructure. However, that funding should not come at the expense of Park Board authority and independence, nor should it undermine the significant public engagement that has already shaped priorities. As an avid follower of the Park Board for at least a decade, I've listened to countless staff presentations and public speakers. Park Board has developed detailed strategies grounded in data, comparative research, and extensive public input. Those documents already establish clear priorities and should remain the foundation for decision-making. By naming specific projects in this motion, Council risks signaling that these ad hoc directions carry more weight than existing work. It also risks pitting different communities and recreation groups against each other when some are named and others are not. Both Sunset Park and Mount Pleasant pools are long-promised, and deserve funding. Listing one but not the other creates uncertainty and competition. My request is straightforward. Please amend the motion to explicitly prioritize alignment with existing park board strategies, policies, and approved plans. In particular, I'm concerned about the naming of priority community center renewal. The community center strategy found that 11 of 27 community centers need urgent renewal. In prioritizing these 11, additional factors including equity and population growth were considered. This approach seeks to maximize the impact of investment in areas historically underfunded by the city and increases service levels in densifying areas. The two community centers named as your top priorities are neither in equity initiative zones nor growth areas. Rather than picking alternate priorities, I ask that you support either the priorities in the strategy or the 14-point criteria by which they were selected and simply update the analysis. More broadly, at this stage in the capital planning process, specifying individual projects is unnecessary and inefficient. High-level direction, such as investment in pools and washrooms, is inappropriate. Project-level prioritization... should remain grounded in established plans and technical analysis led by the organization with jurisdiction, the Park Board. Parks and recreation facilities are nearing a crisis. Solving it will take cooperation between the Park Board and City Hall. This capital plan is an important opportunity to signal a willingness to work together. But as written, the motion could deepen jurisdictional and bureaucratic arguments. I hope you will put aside operational details and direct staff to ensure sufficient capital funding for the shared priorities of Council, Park Board, and Vancouverites. Thank you for your time.

Statement Watch

Hi. Good evening, Mayor and Councillors. My name is Tracy Bestland-Bonnie, and I am a resident of Vancouver and co-chair of the Broadview Community Association. I am here to express BCA's strong support for keeping a properly designed, accessible spray park at Broadview Park in the 2027-2030 capital plan. Broadview Park is a well-used community hub for neighborhood families, including Harborview Daycare. The waiting pool has been a much-loved part of summer for many years, and it is now at the end of its useful life. Our community needs a meaningful replacement and a properly designed accessible spray park to provide an important summer water feature for local children and families. I also want to express support for the Hastings Community Center remaining a priority and receiving a full funding needed for an appropriate complete rebuild. Hastings is our local community center and an essential part of community life. It provides recreation programs and gathering spaces for all ages. The city should continue to follow the community center strategy and invest based on established need and objective criteria. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Yeah, please go ahead.

Good evening. My name is Michelle McInnis, and I'm a resident of Vancouver. I do not support the renewal of the five community centers. I do, however, support the capital budget that the Vancouver Parks Board presented to the city recommending the three community centers, Hastings, Renfrew, and Kensington. My roots in the cities run deep. My grandparents lived in the Hastings community. I'm not certain if my Nana used the amenities at the Hastings Community Centre. My family, my neighbours, and my friends all do. Hastings Sunrise is a rapidly growing neighbourhood, rich in cultural diversity. As our population expands, so must our amenities. We need a community centre that we can keep pace with our evolving needs. A space that is welcoming and accessible to all ages, backgrounds, and interests. The community center is more than just a building. It is a gathering place in a neighborhood where teenagers meet friends after school, toddlers learn through play, families celebrate milestones, and seniors participate in wellness programs. The community center provides exercise opportunities, social connections, and educational offerings that help everyone thrive. Hastings Community Centre has ample outdoor park space. The tennis courts to the west are long overdue for a refresh. The Hastings Little League baseball field on the east side is a cherished venue for our young athletes. In the 2022 Community Centre Strategy Report, over 500 pages thoroughly reviewed the community centres across Vancouver. Hastings Community Centre sits at the top of the list, urgently requiring renewal. This is not just about the brick and mortar. It's about investing in our collective well-being and ensuring everyone has access to safe, modern spaces. We need a community centre to enjoy cultural events and a modern space to celebrate milestones. We need a new facility for our children and teens. where they can play and discover new things. A center with programs that come together to all cultural backgrounds and making everyone feel welcome. I urge each and every one of you to look closely at the needs of our community, consider the funding, and think what is investment means of the Hastings Sunrise future. I ask that our neighborhood gets the new community center we deserve. Investing in the new community center is not only a commitment to our present, but a promise to our future generations. Thank you for your attention and support.

Statement Watch

Yeah, please go ahead.

Okay yeah hi my name is Jason McGarry I'm a resident of Vancouver and I don't support the motion in its form I do support it in principle but in its original form as presented April 21st 2022 with the uh top five that were recommended but particularly Hastings Renfrew and Kensington um those are the three that were prioritized with much consultation between community center associations the public as well as the park board and uh city staff uh refm and those were the three that were considered at the highest needs i don't know how these other three made it into there i think it's mostly to garner some votes for ken sims unfortunately A complete rebuild is the priority, I think, that should be done for Hastings Community Centre, and there's a vacant lot at the corner of Hastings and Renfrew that is perfectly suitable. You can build it as high as you want and add multiple floors for different facilities, possibly a couple floors for childcare, a couple maybe for seniors, some Indigenous groups, and have parking down below, free parking for... people in the neighborhood attending and also include some low-income housing why not make it a whole community hub the properties there the plans are in place it should something that could be implemented sooner than later uh thank you for your time that's all i have to say thank you speaker fortis tash singh joe hall and also includes some low-income housing. Why not make it a whole community hub? We have properties there. The plans are in place. It should be something that could be implemented. Thank you for your time. That's all I have to say. Speaker 40 is not on the line.