The opinions of Turner Valley area residents will weigh heavily on the future of recreational activities in town.
The Town of Turner Valley posted an online survey from July 29 to Aug. 17 asking what recreational opportunities citizens would like to see in an effort to improve existing services.
The survey was also available in paper format at the Sheep River Library and Dr. Lander Memorial Swimming Pool.
“We wanted to generate interest from the public and get an idea of what types of facilities they would use and whether we should be focusing on larger projects or focusing on the smaller one-offs or enlarging our existing assets or creating new facilities for parks and recreation,” said Turner Valley town planner Matthew Atkinson.
The responses will be compiled by the Town’s pathway, parks and recreation committee this month, which will then make recommendations to town council in September on what projects it should focus on both short and long term, said Atkinson, the committee’s staff representative.
“We are looking at what kinds of amenities they want to see built in Turner Valley or what they would use,” he said. “Maybe it’s an expansion to the existing pathway, maybe it’s an enhancement to the existing pool, or it could be new recreational facilities.”
The survey asks the age of each person in the household and allows up to four people in the home to provide four suggestions each for recreational opportunities.
Atkinson said it is up to council to act on the committee’s recommendations.
“The initial recommendations to council will be looking at the smaller facilities,” he said. “As for the larger facilities there is a lot more that needs to go into that and you need to work with your municipal neighbours.
“We are not looking at multi-million dollar projects, we are looking at smaller community-drive projects that can be done with smaller dollars.”
Committee chairman and town councillor John Waring said cost will be an important factor in what can be acted on.
“We’ve got to bear in mind the cost and ability,” he said. “If we look at something that’s a real need and don’t have the money in the budget we will (pursue) grants and get the community involved in raising funds.
“We are not going to go to council and recommend things we can’t afford or things that will have a horrendous impact on the tax base.”
Waring said the committee will create short, medium and long-term projects in its recommendations, while taking into consideration what the Turner Valley area already has to offer.
“We’ve got to really look at what is available in the community and what type of things are missing,” he said. “Whatever we do has to be sustainable and as much as possible appeal to all ages.”
Waring said the Town already has some projects slated for upcoming years including new baseball diamonds, a soccer field and pathway expansion.
He added the Sheep River Library also offers various programming including a walking club and Black Diamond has services including an outdoor fitness park, indoor arena, skate park and curling rink.
“We don’t want to repeat what they’re doing,” Waring said. “At the end of the day we have everything Black Diamond has got and Black Diamond has got everything we’ve got. We are trying to not think as an individual town, but as a community.”
Waring said while there are many recreational activities in the area, there is still room for improvement.
“Maybe the kids would like to have somewhere where they could bounce a basketball around or play some form of handball,” he said. “Maybe we could do something different in the ice rink in the summer time. We are floating ideas around.”
Waring said the committee will continue to engage the public throughout the process and meet intermittently with the Town of Black Diamond regarding its proposals and plans.