Mayor column: Field committee will reflect everyone's interests

While I understand that those who live close by and who have initiated the 'Save the Park' movement feel a very strong sense of ownership, this is a public space belonging to the city which must, like all other of our facilities, be put to the best use possible.

Westmount is not overly endowed with athletic facilities, nor do we have a lot of choices about where to put them in our fully built community. We do, however, have lots of young people and older residents as well who are very enthusiastic athletes and as one can see by our city’s winning performance in the outdoor swim meet last summer, we also have athletes who can compete successfully.

This is something to celebrate in a healthy community, and it is for this reason that we have invested so much time in finding a solution for our growing number of soccer players. Westmount also has a tradition of consultation on changes which impact residents. We did so initially with a small private meeting of local residents living around the park, with the community in a public meeting, on our web site, and now we will do so with a small committee with representatives of each of our districts. This is intended to assure that when council decides to spend the money on refurbishing these fields, it has heard the desires and needs reflected by a group of citizens from across our community. There are no lobby groups and no sports teams specifically represented on this committee.

There are those who would like to believe that they have more to offer in this consultation than others. We cannot listen only to the loudest and most persistent voices, although they certainly are being heard. Through a very objective selection process, the committee will be selected. If there are any who feel they have more to add, they should contact the individual who is there from their district and provide them with whatever information or ideas they have.

Ultimately, the people who represent you in the decision will be the councillors who were duly elected to do so. They will have had a very broad and extensive consultation process to furnish them with the pulse of the community on this subject.

I thank those who have gotten involved and have contributed their efforts in looking at this issue. I appreciate the time the committee will devote to this discussion. Debate is healthy but no decision will please everybody, and in the end a decision and a course of action must be taken. Council will do so and then we will move on to the other things like the arena, the sound barrier, and the sustainable development plan which need our attention and our energy.