Despite what some media is reporting, working to repeal the July decision to ban whale and dolphin breeding at the Vancouver Aquarium is not the first item on the newly-elected, NPA-dominated park board’s to-do list, says NPA incumbent John Coupar.
“But unfortunately that’s the story making headlines,” said Coupar. “It’s the community centre associations that have really resonated with our communities because they haven’t felt valued.”
In 2012, the then Vision Vancouver-dominated park board presented a controversial new management agreement to the city’s community centre associations, which would centralize core programs and introduced the universal OneCard. The most contentious of the recommendations was one that could see the board pool community centre revenues from room rentals and programs — money traditionally retained by the associations — to be distributed amongst “have not” centres. In response to conflicts regarding the interim agreement, Hastings, Riley Park-Hillcrest, Killarney, Kensington, Kerrisdale and Sunset community centre associations dropped out of the negotiations and last August began the first of three legal proceedings against the park board in B.C. Supreme Court. Two months ago, the B.C. Supreme Court halted the attempted eviction of the self-described “Group of Six” by the park board. Recently Renfrew Community Centre Association also left the negotiating table.
Preliminary results from the Nov. 15 civic election for park board showed Vision Vancouver newcomer Catherine Evans with 64,707 votes, followed by Coupar (62,970) and the NPA’s Casey Crawford (59,882), Sarah Kirby-Yung (56,828) and Erin Shun (56,762). The Green Party’s Stuart Mackinnon placed sixth with 56,762 votes followed by the Green’s Michael Wiebe with 55,607. Kirby-Yung was vice president of marketing and communications with the Vancouver Aquarium from 2008 to 2010.
Coupar said the two years of negotiations completed so far by the park board and the associations on a joint operating agreement will not be wasted.
“Some of it is good,” said Coupar. “But the way it was pushed on the centres is what they’re not happy about. I believe we’ll be able to come to a resolution reasonably quickly.”
Coupar said his sense is residents are tired of the “top-down approach” to park board decisions, something the NPA is determined to change. As for issues surrounding whales and dolphins at the Vancouver Aquarium, Coupar noted the new park board isn’t even officially sworn in yet.
“But it was part of our platform,” said Coupar. “There was not a lot of consultation and it was done hurriedly, right at the end of [outgoing Vision commissioners’] term, even though Vision had six years to deal with it before that.”
Coupar noted he recused himself from the vote regarding the breeding ban at the Vancouver Aquarium because at the time his sales and marketing company represented a business that sold products to the facility.
“It had nothing to do with me, but I recused myself because it could be perceived as conflict,” said Coupar. “But I am no longer working with that company and have cleared the decks.”
Coupar added one of his priorities remains bringing maintenance in parks, gardens and green spaces back to where it was prior to budget cuts of recent years.
“My big concern is we only have 33 gardeners for 230 parks and then all of these people in [city] communications,” said Coupar. “We need more boots on the ground to get these parks looking great again.”
Coupar does not believe a Vision Vancouver majority council will be less cooperative with an NPA-dominated park board.
“How can a green mayor be against parks and flowers?” said Coupar.
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