It appears progress may have been made in an ongoing dispute between town council and the Bulkley Valley Soccer Society (BVSS) over the closing date for the Chandler Park fields.
“I was a little naive, I thought it was just a simple matter. You just leave the locks off the gates and done, but it’s not,” explained BVSS president Monique Vanderwart at the Dec. 12 town council meeting.
“After being open just shy of four-and-a-half months, we had thought it would be open longer. So we were scrambling a little bit when it was closed.”
For three years, BVSS has been in communication with the Town to keep the fields open past the Sept. 11th closing date. This past year tension ensued between the parties as a result of hostile communication that occurred via email.
“We believe that by continuing to work together, keeping the fields open longer is solvable,” said Vanderwart. “We are committed to a respectful relationship.”
Mayor Gladys Atrill recommended staff be directed by the new CAO. A motion was made to that effect and passed unanimously.
Town staff will be cooperating with BVSS to devise a plan to keep the fields open later into the fall.
“The reason for that is that there have been lots of communications and we’re wanting to make sure that we’re handling the point of contact well,” said Atrill. “So that we’ve got a point of contact internally that is receiving the information, and we can ensure that we have smooth operations on the inside.”
Coun. Frank Wray suggested employing a facilitator as the conversation transitions from council to staff.
“Your [Atrill’s] skill in kind of calming things down, when we met with the groups, helped a lot,” explained Wray. “I think if it was somebody that was a neutral third party that perhaps might be able to steer, because it’s going to be a difficult conversation.”
As these concerns are not urgent, Atrill said they will allow the new chief administrative officer, Michael Dewar, to settle in and “become familiarized with the issue” before a meeting is held. Dewar was recently hired from the District of Houston where he was also CAO.
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