Post by DuaneT on Mar 13, 2005 22:14:02 GMT -5
Well today’s article in the Kelowna Daily Courier certainly put to rest the idea that Kerry Park was donated to the Kerry family and that it is a part of the Simpson Convent as some people were lead to believe. The City of Kelowna owns this piece of property which they bought from the CPR for 10,000 dollars. The other point that was not made in the story is that part of the grassland now is the site of the old two story royal bank. That portion at any time could be redeveloped into a commercial building.
I am glad to hear that the Kerry family donated money to upgrade the park back in 1982. But a one time donation of 20,000 dollars does not give them the right to try to dictate how the park is used 23 years later. I was also very disappointed to hear Mrs. Elizabeth Greenwood comment that she believes the city has a “moral and ethical obligation” to preserve the downtown waterfront as is. Well I can only guess that she has not gone to our website to view the sketches of the area. For is she had she would notice that Kerry Park would become a larger size and built to more community friendly. Kerry Park will be move and enlarged and that is just the plan truth. For anyone with a good sense of logic they can see this is a good opportunity for city to upgrade park land with no cost to the taxpayers.
Now we just have to see what Mr. John Zeger and the CRCP have to say. From reading past comments I am sure he will be taking some cheap shots at the Mayor for coming and setting the record straight and yes I am sure I will be getting some too.
For those who have missed the story I have listed it below for all to read.
Critics misled, Gray suggests
By RON SEYMOUR The Okanagan Sunday
KELOWNA -- A small park at the centre of a big controversy in downtown Kelowna was never donated to the city, Mayor Walter Gray says
The patch of lawn known as Kerry Park was bought by the city in 1939 from the Canadian Pacific Railway for $10,000
"I think a lot of people have the idea the land was donated by the Kerry family, and that's not the case at all," Gray said Saturday
Critics of the $250-million development proposal known as Lawson Landing have based their objections in part on the belief the project would result in the loss of Kerry Park
But developer Phil Milroy and city officials say the project would actually double the current amount of usable public land along the downtown lakeshore
Features such as a widened boardwalk, central plaza, expanded beach and a long pier would boost public space to 188,000 square feet from 71,000 square feet
"What the city has told the developer all along is that, at the end of the day, there must be more public space and unobstructed access to the waterfront than exists there today," Gray said
The Lawson Landing proposal includes three residential towers with a total of 550 suites, a 225-room hotel and 75,000 square feet of new retail premises
It would cover about two hectares in the area bounded roughly by Bernard Avenue, Water Street, Queensway and the lakeshore, with Milroy buying much of the property from the City of Kelowna
A focus for critics, who say the project is simply too big, has been the fate of Kerry Park. The park takes its name from Les Kerry, the former owner of a weekly newspaper, who gave the city $20,000 in 1982, with the money used to fix up the Ogopogo statue and improve some landscaping in the area. "I remember Les Kerry was a wonderful man, very community-minded and generous," Gray said. "But the Kerry family never owned that property, and they certainly never donated it to the City of Kelowna with any kind of condition that it stay as it is forever." Nevertheless, Kerry's daughter, Elizabeth Greenwood,believes the city has a "moral and ethical obligation" to preserve the downtown waterfront as is
"I am angry that the city would even entertain the Lawson Landing proposal to use downtown property for commercial highrise development," Greenwood wrote in a letter she sent to Gray last week
In an interview on Saturday, Greenwood dismissed the idea that Lawson Landing would double public space
"A boardwalk, pier and brick plaza aren't the same things as a nice grassy park where people can have a picnic," she said. Supporters of the Lawson Landing project say it fits in with the city's goal of revitalizing the downtown by boosting the number of permanent residents and creating an attractive development that will draw residents and tourists alike
It's expected Milroy will bring the development plans to city council once the provincial Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans finish reviewing the proposed changes to the waterfront
Similar approvals were granted when the city developed Waterfront Park in the early 1990s.
I am glad to hear that the Kerry family donated money to upgrade the park back in 1982. But a one time donation of 20,000 dollars does not give them the right to try to dictate how the park is used 23 years later. I was also very disappointed to hear Mrs. Elizabeth Greenwood comment that she believes the city has a “moral and ethical obligation” to preserve the downtown waterfront as is. Well I can only guess that she has not gone to our website to view the sketches of the area. For is she had she would notice that Kerry Park would become a larger size and built to more community friendly. Kerry Park will be move and enlarged and that is just the plan truth. For anyone with a good sense of logic they can see this is a good opportunity for city to upgrade park land with no cost to the taxpayers.
Now we just have to see what Mr. John Zeger and the CRCP have to say. From reading past comments I am sure he will be taking some cheap shots at the Mayor for coming and setting the record straight and yes I am sure I will be getting some too.
For those who have missed the story I have listed it below for all to read.
Critics misled, Gray suggests
By RON SEYMOUR The Okanagan Sunday
KELOWNA -- A small park at the centre of a big controversy in downtown Kelowna was never donated to the city, Mayor Walter Gray says
The patch of lawn known as Kerry Park was bought by the city in 1939 from the Canadian Pacific Railway for $10,000
"I think a lot of people have the idea the land was donated by the Kerry family, and that's not the case at all," Gray said Saturday
Critics of the $250-million development proposal known as Lawson Landing have based their objections in part on the belief the project would result in the loss of Kerry Park
But developer Phil Milroy and city officials say the project would actually double the current amount of usable public land along the downtown lakeshore
Features such as a widened boardwalk, central plaza, expanded beach and a long pier would boost public space to 188,000 square feet from 71,000 square feet
"What the city has told the developer all along is that, at the end of the day, there must be more public space and unobstructed access to the waterfront than exists there today," Gray said
The Lawson Landing proposal includes three residential towers with a total of 550 suites, a 225-room hotel and 75,000 square feet of new retail premises
It would cover about two hectares in the area bounded roughly by Bernard Avenue, Water Street, Queensway and the lakeshore, with Milroy buying much of the property from the City of Kelowna
A focus for critics, who say the project is simply too big, has been the fate of Kerry Park. The park takes its name from Les Kerry, the former owner of a weekly newspaper, who gave the city $20,000 in 1982, with the money used to fix up the Ogopogo statue and improve some landscaping in the area. "I remember Les Kerry was a wonderful man, very community-minded and generous," Gray said. "But the Kerry family never owned that property, and they certainly never donated it to the City of Kelowna with any kind of condition that it stay as it is forever." Nevertheless, Kerry's daughter, Elizabeth Greenwood,believes the city has a "moral and ethical obligation" to preserve the downtown waterfront as is
"I am angry that the city would even entertain the Lawson Landing proposal to use downtown property for commercial highrise development," Greenwood wrote in a letter she sent to Gray last week
In an interview on Saturday, Greenwood dismissed the idea that Lawson Landing would double public space
"A boardwalk, pier and brick plaza aren't the same things as a nice grassy park where people can have a picnic," she said. Supporters of the Lawson Landing project say it fits in with the city's goal of revitalizing the downtown by boosting the number of permanent residents and creating an attractive development that will draw residents and tourists alike
It's expected Milroy will bring the development plans to city council once the provincial Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans finish reviewing the proposed changes to the waterfront
Similar approvals were granted when the city developed Waterfront Park in the early 1990s.
