EDITOR,
I would like to voice my concern for the proposed youth field user fees. Since the promised glory days pre Olympics and post-industrial town slide, the DOS has touted the great things to come to our small corner of the globe, yet taxes and utility fees have risen consistently.
The SODC has been a pipe dream that costs approximately $40,000 a month in interest, on land leveraged to more than $10 million in loans to be spent on consulting and studies.
The DOS has hired numerous staff with six-figure salaries, and four councillors voted their own salary increases right after the election.
These fields were built by volunteers with land that was given by the province for recreational purposes. To charge fees is in opposition to the current bylaw and the provincial use of the land given.
There will be no user fee or payment given to the DOS by the SVMF to be held on these fields. This will affect families that pay taxes to maintain the fields. Should they have to pay these costs again if the fields are ruined?
I am in favour of the festival, but the DOS needs to negotiate and manage contracts it signs better.
These youth sports are some of the most accessible and economical in Squamish. They provide healthy options for kids, increase wellbeing, teach social skills and teamwork. Some families in Squamish are not able to participate in more expensive sports.
Some ill-informed councillors have stated it was about time more user fees were applied, yet how can they support it when they don't even know the facts and numbers?
There are more than 300 volunteers in youth and field sports that contribute approximately 1,000 hours a week.
The DOS states it cost annually $409,000 to maintain the fields, which is almost $1,100 a day! Is the DOS planning to charge field users $47/hr per field eventually?
Does this field maintenance cost cover all fields and parks in Squamish? (School fields are included.)
Will every kid playing in park playgrounds have to pay a meter for his 30 minutes on the swing set?
Is the DOS going to charge user fees for everything eventually? Kids in the skatepark, kiteboarders on the Spit, people using the library, mountain bikers accessing trails or the newly paved bike path?
As quoted from the DOS website, "Squamish is second to none when it comes to recreation and physical fitness." Has this changed?
One fact that has been made clear by the DOS is that youth user fee revenue will not go into field maintenance, but general revenue - probably to help pay the SODC loan!
Would it have been a good idea to charge an extra $10 per festival ticket? Forty-thousand (festival attendees) X $10 equals $400,000.
Thus, the estimated yearly costs for field maintenance would be covered, and the DOS would have an extra $400,000 to spend on salaries, consultants, and raises!
Robert Weys
Director, Squamish Youth Soccer Association
Garibaldi Highlands
