Major overhaul ordered for Kin Race Track site plans

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Councillor Akbal Mund said the plans should have been focused on establishing a sports and athletics hub that could serve the community as it grows in the future, and not as a park, which is what it was called during the community engagement process in November and December.

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“What I saw in this plan is we are trying to develop the entire lands within the next few years here, but where are we going to put that third [ice] rink? We don’t have any other land within the City of Vernon to do that. Where are we going to put ball diamonds if we lose the DND grounds? That’s the second biggest registered sport we have in this community, over 2,400 people play ball,” said Mund, adding that volleyball is the fastest growing sport in Vernon but is not addressed in this plan.

Mund was joined by Councillor Brian Quiring in also noting that some non-sport amenities included in the plans like the amphitheater, fishing pond and toboggan hill could go at Polson Park.

In order to keep the site’s focus on sports and athletics, Mund made a motion to have council include artificial turf fields, a skate park, and a facility for volleyball in the plans. Councillor Kari Gares built off the motion to include a second field and to change the facility into a multi-use field house The amended motion was passed unanimously.

Mayor Victor Cumming, building off Mund’s motion, noted that outdoor hard surface courts should also be included in the designs. The motion to establish mixed-use hard surface courts was put forward and passed unanimously.

Quiring also voiced concerns with how the plan lacked an expansion on Kal Tire Place to establish a third ice sheet and an outdoor skating rink. A motion to have a third sheet and an outdoor skating rink included in the plans passed unanimously.

Gares also noted that four baseball diamonds are currently in place at the Kin Race Track site, and should also be incorporated in the concept. Gares said four diamonds may be too many for the site, as the current use isn’t very high because of a lack of lighting and conditions of the fields are poor, and put forward a motion to include two diamonds in the plans, which also passed unanimously.

Discussions during Monday’s meeting also turned towards the proposed construction of affordable housing at the site. Both plans set aside a portion of land in the northwest corner of the property to establish 250 units of affordable and attainable housing, but some councillors were not in favour of having this development built there.

Councillor Scott Anderson said the site was not appropriate for an affordable housing development, saying there are other more suitable options in Vernon. Gares and Quiring also noted that they didn’t think the development should go as planned.

Mayor Victor Cumming said that the site would be good for the area as it is close to grocery stores, jobs, and, in the near future, recreation and park amenities. Councillor Kelly Fehr also stated that the city is in need of more affordable housing options and this site would suffice.

Anderson said while the city does need more affordable housing options, the site should not be used for this development, and he put forward a motion to exclude affordable housing from the design.

The motion passed by a vote of four to three, with Cumming, Fehr and Teresa Durning voting in opposition.

While there were lots of changes made to the plan, there were some concepts that were approved.

Cumming put forward a motion to accept that a wetland trail be established, and Quiring proposed having a road go from 43rd Ave. around Kal Tire Place, through the property, and connect to Old Kamloops Rd. Both those were passed unanimously, as were motions to accept the plans for a continuous walking path, a dog park area, and outside washrooms.

The input from council will be used to adjust the draft proposals for the site. Those plans will again be reviewed by council then forwarded for public consultation at a later date.