A request by the Elder Citizens Recreation Association to have a vacant city-owned lot turned into a parking lot didn't gain much traction at a city council meeting on Monday night.
The organization wrote to council asking about the possibility of converting 1689 Ninth Avenue into a parking lot for the centre to reduce the need for on-street parking around the facility at 1692 Tenth Avenue. The association currently leases the vacant lot, but want it re-zoned for parking.
Coun. Brian Skakun asked if the project could be added to the budget as an enhancement, but his colleagues balked when they heard the price could reach $80,000.
"It's an enormous sum of money," Mayor Shari Green said. "I think the price for me is an issue."
The mayor also expressed concerns about how neighbours might feel if a parking lot was added to a residential area.
Coun. Albert Koehler tried to find some middle ground and asked if the property could be turned into a gravel parking lot cheaper than a paved lot, but director of planning Ian Wells informed him that zoning requirements mean it must be paved if it's to be used for parking.
Council directed staff to continue to communicate with the association to see if other options could be found.
There was also extensive debate about the possibility of finding a third party operator for the Four Seasons pool and the Civic Centre. Although council ultimately chose to move forward with asking staff for reports on how those arrangements could be worked out, there was skepticism from some councillors as to how it can be achieved.
"I don't think there's a third party operator out there who can make this thing float," Coun. Lyn Hall said of the plan for the pool, but he ultimately voted in favour of asking the staff for a report.
Skakun, Coun. Murry Krause and Coun. Frank Everitt opposed the motion, with Skakun calling the report "a waste of time."
The recommendation for third party operators came out of the city's core review study.
Coun. Cameron Stolz defended the concept of looking for cost savings through contracting out and said it would be "disrespectful to the people who have taken part in the core review" if council were to abandon the process now.
Only Krause opposed moving forward with a report looking into a third party running the Civic Centre.
It's not known how long it will take staff to come back to council with their reports.
Council rejected a request by the owners of Jack and Jill dry cleaning to have an animated sign at their Hart Highway location. Although the city has yet to receive any complaints about the sign, council voted in favour of a staff recommendation that an animated sign in that area could pose a safety hazard for drivers.
