The Irvine Community Resource Centre is set to be constructed on the hamlet’s existing Woodward Memorial Park at 71 S. Railway Avenue. NEWS PHOTO KENDALL KING, JAN. 10, 2022
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Cypress County councillors are standing behind construction of the Irvine Community Resource Centre, despite opposition from a group of Irvine and area residents.
First proposed in 2017, the centre – which will house the Irvine Community Library and two public meeting spaces – has long been an item of consideration for county council, but substantial advances have been made over the past year.
In January 2022, council approved conceptual design of the centre. In November, council green-lighted construction following procurement of a $1.5-million funding grant from Alberta’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative. Then last week, the county began its search for a contracted design/build service provider.
But while council has shared enthusiasm, a number of residents are speaking out against it.
A group of approximately 15 concerned citizens met at Cypress County municipal office Tuesday in the hopes of sharing concerns with councillors, who were also present for a scheduled meeting, but to no avail.
Speaking with the News, the group expressed a variety of concerns, such as location of the centre and council’s engagement with residents.
Location is set to be at 71 S. Railway Ave. in Irvine – the current site of the Woodward Memorial Park and the Irvine and District Lion’s Club Park Playground. And while the park remains a feature of the centre’s outdoor areas, construction would necessitate a decrease in the size of the park and removal of several old trees.
Irvine resident Marina Cole disagrees with making such change.,
“That park is part of our history,” she said. “There’s so many people who have connections (to it) and the park has a lot of ties to the community.
“Those trees were planted (approximately) 100 years ago. Yeah, there’s two trees that are punky that I would say need to be taken down. But, the rest of the trees are great; they’re great habitat trees, and they provide shade for the park.”
Fellow Irvine resident Greg Smith feels the park’s main street location makes it easily accessible to tourists travelling the Trans-Canada and locals, especially those who reside on the south side of town.
“I live right down the street from the park and I see how much that park is used in the summer time,” said Smith. “Kids, bicyclers coming down across Canada, or people in general go into town and they stop there, have lunch, let the kids play, and then they go again.”
While the county has promised to replace any trees removed from the park, and says it is working with the Lion’s Club in the creation of a new park to make up for the green space reduction, the group present Tuesday expressed frustration at what they feel is unwillingness on the part of the county to hear their concerns.
The county counters that area residents were consulted every year since the centre was first proposed during public consultation events, including an open house event specifically focused on the resource centre, held last April at the existing library.
Group members acknowledge the event took place, but claim none of the feedback they provided during that event appears to be factored into the council’s decisions.
Several members of the Lion’s Club were also in attendance and disputed the council’s claim it is working with the club to create a new park, while expressing growing mistrust regarding information released by council, which they claim is untruthful in nature.
