Sooke’s Playing Fields: Planning for the Next Generation

The Sooke Community Association and its volunteers have given Sooke an incredible legacy of playing fields and community facilities. Countless volunteer hours have gone into creating and maintaining places where generations of Sooke kids and adults have played.

Thanks to the SCA and the organizations that use these fields, sports and recreation are a huge part of life here. Like everywhere else, growth comes with greater demand, higher expectations, and more responsibility. It is no longer reasonable to expect volunteers to fully carry responsibility for facilities that have become essential community infrastructure.

Council has already agreed to begin discussions with the SCA about service agreements for Fred Milne and Art Morris Parks. Let’s build on that work. Bring the SCA, Fred Milne Park Society, sports organizations, SD62, SEAPARC and the District together. Leave past disagreements at the door. Put the numbers on the table. Understand the real operating and capital costs, current public contributions, future needs and user fees. Then develop a clear, transparent agreement about responsibilities and funding.

If taxpayers are going to make a greater long-term investment - and we think we should - that investment also needs long-term protection. We need to ensure these lands remain available for recreation and that public investment is protected for generations to come. Let sports organizations focus on providing sport, at reasonable fees, rather than carrying the responsibility for operating community infrastructure. In the meantime, we would ask that user fee increases be kept to a minimum while a long-term agreement is worked out.

Respect the legacy. Support our volunteers. Protect our fields. Build a sustainable plan for the next generation.