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All-season playing field and outdoor learning space planned for Bowen
The Bowen Island Municipality has entered into a joint initiative between the Bowen Island Municipality and the West Vancouver School District, on behalf of the School Community Connections program. The result is an application to build a 12,000 square foot all-weather practice field at the Bowen Island Community School (BICS).
The project is proposed as Phase 3 of the School Community Connections program, established by the Ministry of Education and the Union of BC Municipalities. The program offers funding of one-quarter of the cost, up to $125,000, of a project situated on school property.
Council has approved allocation of $375,000 from its Community Parks Reserve and the Recreation and other Community Use Reserve. The amount will cover the remaining three-quarters cost of the project, subject to approval of the application.
The proposal also includes a commitment from Council to incorporate an outdoor learning space in the first phase of the development of civic facilities on Bowen, subject to design and cost analysis.
The West Vancouver School District chose to channel funds from the School Community Connections Program to BICS, including $5,000 for Phase 1 and $40,000 for Phase 2. The first phase funding was spent on hiring a consultant to assess the viability of undertaking a joint initiative. The second phase focused on identifying and analyzing the feasibility of specific projects.
Working with a facilitator, a Community Connections Steering committee was established to work on Phase 2. This committee included representatives from the school, community and the municipality.
An all-season playing field and an outdoor learning space were two needs that drew strong support from the Steering committee, as well as from members of the Civic Facilities Working Group (CFWG). Christine Walker, Community Recreation Supervisor for the municipality, presented a report to council on November 19th outlining the rationale for support of the two projects.
Currently, the BICS field is highly in demand as the primary space on Bowen for organized and non-organized sports activities. However, the existing facility is a grass field and use of it in the rainy season causes rapid deterioration.
The BICS gym does not provide an alternative for sports practices during poor weather conditions as it is booked throughout the week and weekends with school activities and other recreation programs.
The new artificial turf field offers an ideal alternative for the Bowen Island Football Club, Ultimate teams and other users of Bowen's outdoor recreational pursuits. It will also allow the current field to regenerate during the heavy rain months.
Located between the tennis court and existing grass field at BICS, its surface would be fenced, lit and have a perimeter foundation in place for a future cover. Equivalent to the size of a double tennis court, it will be multi-purpose, all-weather and suitable for night use.
An outdoor learning space has been on the wish list of Boweners for many years and was also identified as an important space to incorporate at the Civic Facilities Visioning Workshop in March of this year. Numerous clubs and organizations as well as local schools have expressed interest in taking advantage of such a space if one were to be built.
In November, following a request from the Community Connections Steering committee, the CFWG recommended to council that BIM, as part of the initial construction phase of the new civic facilities, participate in the Community Connections program.
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Last updated: Dec 05, 2007
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