Kimberly Code is fighting a proposal to sell off park land in Williams Lake.
Her home backs onto Patrick Reid Park on Boundary Street, one of five small parks city council is considering selling to raise funds to invest in the river valley trail system.
“Taking green space away is not the right way to go about raising funds for other projects,” Code said Tuesday. “When they built our neighborhoods they built these parks as part of the them.”
The other parks being considered for disposal are Beauchamp, Johnson, Gibbon and Twelfth Avenue Tot Parks.
In an earlier interview, Mayor Walt Cobb said the parks are no longer in use, but Code argued it is proven that green spaces are important, even if they are not being used.
“You are looking at the trees, the deer, the nature,” she said. “Our house overlooks the park, that’s one of the reasons we bought it.”
Besides, many people in the neighborhood use the park to walk through with dogs, teach children how to ride a bike, and in the winter children sled there, she added.
There used to be a picnic table and a garbage can in the park, but those have been removed by the city in recent years.
Code started an online petition against the proposal a few weeks ago and already it has garnered 188 signatures.
This Thursday, May 12, the city is hosting an open house at city hall from 6 to 8 p.m. about the park land plan and Code is encouraging people to attend.
“People may not think it effects them,” Code said. “But how would you like it if somebody came up to your house and decided to take away your view of the lake or the chunk of property in front of you.”
In addition to Thursday’s open house, city staff is placing displays about the plan at city hall and the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex between May 14 and 24.
During that time the public is encouraged to fill out the response sheets provided at those two locations.
The feedback will help city council decide on how to proceed.
Selling park land requires either assent from the lectors or an alternative approval process.