Engagement sessions brought forth ideas for future of Fall Fair
Keeping the North Peace Fall Fair and 4-H Achievement Days in their current forms were among the top things participants wanted to see happen at the North Peace Regional Park going forward at the final public engagement workshop held in Fort St. John on Thursday evening.
According to Area C Director Brad Sperling and Area B Director Jordan Kealy who opened the meeting, the Fort St. John session was the most well-attended, with approximately 72 people taking part.
In addition to the two area directors, there were representatives from the North Peace Fall Fair Society, 4-H, the Spinners & Weavers, local farmers, ranchers and others who have grown up in the North Peace and have attended the Fall Fair for many years.
“The main reasons for this process are the changes in liabilities and the fixes of how to go forward and make the fall fair grounds work great for our area,” said Kealy. “That’s our main intention is to see this go through in the future and for us to be able to use it, and for our kids to be able to use it. My main goal is that we can fix it once and move on, we don’t want to have to keep on going through a scenario like this.”
The meeting was facilitated by consultants Justin Russo and Maxwell Harrison from Expedition Management Consultants, who are working behind the scenes and have consulted on similar projects throughout BC and Alberta. Expedition specializes in parks, recreation, tourism and culture master planning in a lot of rural communities.
Russo said that the main purpose of the meeting was to get the public’s input on the future of the park. To find out what should change, or stay the same, and what is most important to people about the park, as they embark upon creating a master plan.
The purpose of the project is “to develop a plan for the park that will guide future decisions,” Russo said. “It’s a road map that will all the partners become involved in improving the park over the next number of years.”
The master plan project is currently in Phase 2, he said, which is community engagement and in addition to the workshops, and survey, Russo and Harrison were given a tour of the regional park by members of the Fall Fair Society.
“We got to see the facilities firsthand - that was the highlight, so far of the project,” Russo said.
Once they have gathered information from the community engagement process, Exploration Consulting will put together a draft report for review by the Peace River Regional District. They anticipate the guiding document will be completed by the fall.
“We want to ensure that you’re involved in the process,” he said. “That means we want to work directly with you to hear what your aspirations are, your concerns and that those are considered in the process. The report will reflect that community engagement.”
The outputs of the process, said Russo are to create a vision for the park, what will be different, what will be the same. He hopes to answer that question by getting participants to look at the needs for programs and facilities at the site, how the site is used now and, in the future, and how it might be funded and run in the future.
“The result is a document that is visionary, clear and useful. That’s what we’re shooting for here.”
Participants asked Russo and Harrison a variety of questions before beginning their input exercises. They were concerned about things like who is going to run the Fall Fair and manage the regional park going forward, why did it seem like the information about the public engagement came out at the last minute, and why do they insist upon referring to the location as the North Peace Regional Park when no one ever calls it that? The title is not clear whatsoever, said one participant.
“Tonight is about input only. About finding out what is important to you, and then we’ll use that as an input into the draft,” Russo said.
Concern was also expressed regarding how this process will affect this year’s Fall Fair.
“Jordan and I will work together with that board,” said Sperling. “That’s number one, at least for Jordan and I right now, is that the Fall Fair goes ahead. It gives us time to get your input and keep that going.”
The confusion surrounding the name is on the PRRD, Sperling said. It’s been a regional park since 1979, and he said that when they advertised the process for the master plan, the PRRD should’ve added that it was also known as the Fall Fair Grounds.
“That’s on us. We should’ve advertised that better,” Sperling said.
The people at the workshop then had the chance to present their thoughts on the future direction of the North Peace Regional Park, by answering questions about the Facility’s needs – what should stay the same, what should be improved; Program needs – what types of programs are needed to meet the needs of the community now and into the future; and what is the most important thing?
The top choice of things that should stay the same was that the Fall Fair and 4-H Achievement Days should continue. Many thought that the current buildings should remain and be upgraded and repaired where needed. Among the things people thought could be added to the facility included upgrades to the kitchen facility, making the grounds available for rental for events, and use the site for youth programs that are based on learning about agriculture.
Having potable water was also a major concern, particularly when Fall Fair Society vice-president Bonnie Carlson pointed out that Northern Health has shut down the well at the park due to high levels of manganese. Hauling water is an expensive option, but at present that is the only option.
Northern Health, said Kealy, doesn’t want there to be any chance of anyone drinking the water, even if it’s in a livestock trough.
However, one participant noted that the animals might not drink the hauled water, and if they won’t drink the water, they’ll die in the heat during the Fall Fair and the Achievement Days.
When asked what is most important about the master plan, participants overwhelmingly said that the North Peace Regional Park needs to retain its primary function as Fall Fair Grounds and home to the 4-H Achievement Days.
Anyone who was unable to attend any of the public engagement sessions or wants to provide input on the master plan can do so by email to Cassandra@expeditionconsulting.ca or by completing the online survey at the PRRD’s Have Your Say page. Deadline for public feedback is Monday, April 8.