Finally a charge of Fraud! for a fraud…

Thank you Britt and David Evans for your positive input on this project. After making our home in Sooke 17 years, I fail to understand the negativity that continues to be expressed against the prospects of new and creative development particularly as it relates to the JPMP. Sooke’s only way forward is to embrace creativity and careful planning. This proposal is just that

In 2006 a community committee determined that John Phillips Memorial Park should have a community facility building. In 2020 the current Council endorsed that plan. The Sooke Lions are offering to build this community facility with funds raised. The alternative is for the District of Sooke to build and staff the facility burdening the taxpayers for years to come.
The Sooke Lions wish to enhance the park respecting the need to be environmental responsible and are considering adding a sensory garden. This is a long process and is very fluid adapting to changing times. We hope to have a preliminary building concept that we will share with the community in an open house in the new year.Our business plan is on our website.

Don’t forget the deal for Sooke to buy the Lions Murray Rd so they have money to build. The purchased land will likely end up as a downtown parking lot.

If you care about the park, please sign the petition for a full public engagement and referendum at: change.org/SaveJohnPhillipsPark.
Thank you for support.

Sharing Saturday sounds like a great idea, but the word “donation cans” denotes spare change. It would be awesome if a digital platform could also be incorporated at fixed locations wherein folks could tap their debit card or credit card and choose an amount to donate. Many folks do not carry much cash, but the Food Bank has great need. However, it is amazing how much is donated to the Food Bank to aid those who need assistance. What an awesome food bank from top to bottom.

Thanks for the additional notes, Britt.
Important note is that the entire greenspace/golf course was private land about a dozen years ago. It was part of a trade that saw the area across OP Rd be given residential zoning.
I reckon we got a bargain: higher density in our core and a huge community greenspace.

When is the next election.I can not believe that our council is so
undemocratic(dictator like.
And ther3e is a urban planner on the council.Have they failed the
community????

Fires in abandoned, unoccupied buildings? Can very well be set by homeless, previously sheltered in the build ing on Otter Point and now placed near Eustace. Also, some were camping on the other side of Otter Point, but now it’s cold and development started there.

Apparently her body was found behind the Hope Centre. Tragic.

Judge rolls over again for the benefit of unlawful activity. We as a society attack the un vaccinated for their belief, however we have given street protestors a free card. I hope the RCMP show the judge the same support, they received/ no longer try and enforce a court injunction.

This pandemic is what has caused the labour shortage.some restaurants now insisting their staff be vaxed and prior to this, the masking which makes it mot only difficult to work with covers on their face for breathing, but communication is stressful and on top of thst policing folks sitting or standing. Then along comes a ridiculous order frim trudope ti pay workers $2000 to stay home. So why wouldn’t they? Not that they are happy to not be working but not under government enforced rules. I spent 25 years in the restaurant industry and by far employers were caring and supportive.

this is an OpEd not journalism.
Beyond surveys and StatsCan, report on more than generalizations. This is offensive to those of us restauranteurs who acknowledge that Labour is more than a resource like lumber or lithium.

Thank-you,
A Restauranteur.

Yes, it’s on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6loaYv4o-bc

Britt, SPN arrives in my mailbox overnight. Receiving it on the morning AFTER the event is not really helpful. Is it recorded so those of us who missed it can watch a rerun?

Agree whole-heartedly. A very badly thought-out plan. Please Sooke, don’t do this. We need all the green space we can get.

Once park land is gone its gone , giving up Murray road land is not a good deal . As far as a ESS center or EOC this is a joke as we have loads of schools new library’s/ Sea Pac (made earthquake proof) etc. for the ESS services . The above comments explain the other function locations for events . I think the Sooke lions do a great job but this land should stay a park and its going to be even a bigger deal as when the town hall needs more room . They say a few walkers and dog walkers use the park Lol joke there are loads of people using this area for markets/political meetings/concerts/art/meditation/painting class’s etc list goes on. making this land smaller will reduce access to what a “car park” “buildings” noise etc. Sooke lions please find somewhere more accessible with less impact on park lands . Again the Lions do a great job and i do not wish to upset them .

The District continues to implement outdated plans from decades ago. Walking last night and seeing the “sports Box” that is being erected in Sunriver nestled in the forest where they have bull dozed trees and green space for it is just disgusting. Literally paving paradise to put up a 45 car parking lot in a residential, quiet neighbourhood. This parking lot will just become yet another place that transients and campers will set up shop much to the dismay of local residents. WTG Mayor and Council.

So here we go again, in crisis mode for the 4th time!

An effective response should have come 17 months ago.

The ridiculous nation-wide patchwork of local & provincial public health regulations/restrictions/mask mandates and vaccine passports -driven by political posturing- was certainly bound to fail in the eyes of anyone with a grade school level of science education.

This absurd situation is akin to my first Air France flight at age 27, where passengers were given the option of sitting in alternating smoking & non-smoking rows. Really??

Coupled with the allowance of non-essential inter-jurisdictional travel, this approach has led us right back to where we were in March, 2020 -and led to the needless loss of lives, jobs, to countless business failures, and astronomical government debt.

There is only one way out of this mess:

Stop repeating the lies you read online. If you have doubts, talk to a doctor. Get vaccinated. Encourage everyone you know who hasn’t already, to do so as well. Wear a mask in indoor in public settings.

We need strong, intelligent leadership in Canada as we deal with “COVID-22”, so think about this when you vote!

That would be .00014 if the population in BC with likely asymptomatic symptoms.Novreason for lixkdowns abd double vax 90 day vaxports which will require a booster shot for every 90 day vaxport. Wake the hell up please. Protect your children and love them

Well stated. The park will be ever more important as the coming build unfolds.

A question to be answered is what is the current Lions membership number, projected growth, age demographic, recruitment numbers past few years to justify a potential 100 year lease in a coveted green space? I don’t dispute they do great work for the community. An outdoor stage in an area of condensed housing is not a project selling feature for anyone within the range of the coming noise and parking issues.

oops JPMP.

Painting Sooke as an us and them is not constructive. However, now that you have asked, I have been an us up to the fast tracking of the dog compound in the Ponds Corridor Park and now the proposed clubhouse in the JFMP.

Are the naysayers, those who oppose this forward thinking proposal, the same that seem to oppose most plans presented under our Public Administration? There has been nothing underhanded about the manner in which proposal has been presented, if anything it tips
the hand to the objectors.. you only need to complete the objection form at the DOS.
I’m not born and raised in Sooke, it’s been my adopted home for 17-18 yrs now, but I do
follow, very closely I might add, our present and previous Administrations decisions which
has been mostly positive in the growth our beautiful community. To the naysayers, I suggest, wake up. It’s 2021
move on and forward.

Although I support the idea of this much needed event center, if not here, where else should a new community hall be built? I don’t believe it should be on the Lion’s valuable piece of property in the centre of town behind the Pizza place…it’s too small, but has a commercial land swap been considered? Green space is getting hard to find in town.

The District of Sooke is currently implementing plans from over a decade ago, unbelievable mismanagement of this District.

The clubhouse if built should be painted blue as it is coming from out out of the blue.

At 300 person capacity for a community gathering place how much parking area is going to be needed?

There are numerous spaces in Sooke with derelict homes on them tear one of those down, don’t take another green space for your own needs, not everyone needs a daycare, and we have many places already that could support the items you listed. Why do all residents have to lose their green space for a small part of the community. Stay home and look after your children instead of throwing them into daycare. Live within your means, or don’t have children! It is a choice YOU made! When did daycares become the entire communities responsibility?! You chose to have children, you should have planned in advance and lived in a location that had daycare available.

If the Sooke Lions Club is very sensitive to the loss of green space, build it elsewhere.

Dear Sooke Lions, The “…proposal is sensitive to green space…” and Community needs are indeed a reality of the Sooke Lions. I also agree that Sooke is growing and as such needs more places to do more things in its current Parks. Putting a facility in the John Phillips Park would be beneficial, not detrimental. Please keep sharing more and more about what is being offered by this proposal.

As the Lions roar to make the park no more, I have to ask if there really is a future need for a facility build of that size. What is the current age demographic of Lions members and is there a good recruitment of younger members? Is this this a build it and they will come situation? I respect the work that the Lions currently do. I am just wondering about their future needs. Thanks

There is:
Prestige Hotel,Comunity Hall,Catholic Church,Sea Parc,and the High School,
Between them all,they provide enough space to cover from small to large gatherings.They have allready been doing so.The Lions Club will secure this property for up to 100 years.Is this the fair and right thing to do???.

Well said, Mr. Wallace.

Given that the Lions already own land, could the community not still be served by building their project on that land? Why does it have to on green space?

I think this was a deliberate tactic by Mayor and Council to have voices not heard. During a still active pandemic requiring people who may or may not have access to a printer, or have mobility issues, or do not feel safe to enter a municipal building? Everything can be done online, you can do your federal taxes for goodness sakes! This Council should be ashamed of this. If this was online they would have more than the needed signatures!

The Mayor and Council continue to allow permits for the removal of greenspace in Sooke, pretty soon Sooke will look just as devastated and ugly as Langford. Tearing down forested areas for a lacrosse box and a massive parking lot?! Now take much needed park space to erect yet another building for a daycare? Didn’t this same council just approve a noisy dog park in a residential area that nobody wanted that lives beside it?! Sorry so the community has to lose green space because people decide to have children without figuring out child care in advance of having them?! How is that the rest of Sooke’s problem?

I’m sorry that the writer feels so negatively about this development. I do hope he is among the few. Mayor Tate has indeed shown the plan for the public to see and assess and what better than The Lions Society, who do nothing but good for the Sooke Community, to be front and centre in making this plan come to fruition in the part of of our town that is becoming central to our day to day living.

The Sooke Lions Club is very sensitive to the loss of 1.9 acres of green space if our development is to get done but you have to consider the community benefits as well – we would contract out to professional daycare operations a space that could be used by up to 50 children, a service that our growing community needs; the claim that no engineering report has been done is not accurate as the only required report at this time is a soil condition report, mainly for drainage & soil strength, & this has been done & the land passed; as the Sooke Flats expands their campground there will no longer be space to hold community events such as Canada Day celebrations, All Sooke Days etc, which this facility would be designed to hold; the building would provide space for the many service clubs in Sooke to have meeting rooms; there would be a hall room that could be size adjusted to accommodate small to medium weddings, family get-togethers & other uses; if or when we have a catastrophic event it will be the perfect emergency safe place to organize the safety of our residents. For a further perspective of our plan, go to https://sookelions.com & click on ‘Lions Center’

The proposed Lions Clubhouse in the park is not a community centre run by the town. It will be operated by the Lions or have services subcontracted out. All bookings for the hall will be under their control with no community input. Why do the Lions need a 300 seat venue but to generate income to support their chosen donations. Yes good intentions but not ones chosen by the community. The Lions are not making a donation to the town for a community hall, they are getting valuable public land for a private venture. Will they make a donation so that it is truly a community hall for all Sooke Citizens? I am of the view that other locations are preferable without intrusion into the only large open space park in the town core.

An oddity I did see during the period of online survey involving the dog park was an unusual amount of dog poop bags decorating the trees, bushes, and edges of the trails. When the survey ended, so did poop bag art display in John Phillips Park.

I certainly support the work the Lions do, however the rumour of another site option I hope to be true. Council has already expedited the approval and supposed September construction start of dog compound in the narrow Pond Corridor. A councilor mitigated the impact of that decision by explaining no matter where it goes some residents will effected. So, now a noisy dog compound in the hood and we are supposed to welcome a project of this magnitude and noise? I supported the 2 day music festival. It is a balance of community. However, what you are planning with the construction and invite to all of Sooke to celebrate Sooke day and Canada Day is out of my community comfort and noise level. Currently as you enter the park from Townsend you regularly hear music blaring in the evening from the old Mulligans building. Not sure what that is about. I just look at that as a prelude to what is being proposed. During the music in the park, I could just sit in my backyard and listen to the muffled guy on the mic and fairly clear the song that followed. The proposed location of the outdoor stage would be even closer. Not to mention wedding and other event noise. No thanks. Keep the park the way it is.

Covid cases are climing at a alarming rate.
No one mentions that.The people are not adequately informed.

As our local Chamber of Commerce, be a leader in our community and pay a living wage of at least $20 an hour. You are asking for a lot of skills and offering minimum wage. Plus part-time hours which don’t sound flexible for young people who may be in school or juggling another job. Minimum wage labour should not be creating our economic development plan.

The Sooke Lions Club is very sensitive to the loss of 1.9 acres of green space if our development is to get done but you have to consider the community benefits as well – we would contract out to professional daycare operations a space that could be used by up to 50 children, a service that our growing community needs; the claim that no engineering report has been done is not accurate as the only required report at this time is a soil condition report, mainly for drainage & soil strength, & this has been done & the land passed; as the Sooke Flats expands their campground there will no longer be space to hold community events such as Canada Day celebrations, All Sooke Days etc, which this facility would be designed to hold; the design would provide space for the many service clubs in Sooke to have meeting rooms; there would be a hall room that could be size adjusted to accommodate small to medium weddings, family get-togethers & other uses; if or when we have a catastrophic event it will be the perfect emergency safe place to organize the safety of our residents. For a further perspective of our plan, go to https://sookelions.com & click on ‘Lions Center’

Some solid advice in that article. However easier said than done. The trickiest part of it all is getting contractors out here to even return a phone call or text you back. I understand how busy it is with development and everyone seemingly wanting renos but it’s brutal in Sooke and I know I’m not the only one with this thought. Some of the worst PR I have even dealt with.

John Phillip was a worker who cut the grass at the originaly named Broomhill Golf Course. He died in a work place accident there and the golf course was renamed in his memory.

Sorry for my ignorance but who was John Phillips and why is a Park named after him ? David Lintern

I question the logic of a sound stage being built across from existing housing and planned condenced housing. Not to mention all the housing lining the other side of the park. Sounds like a confict to me.