Update: Residents protest removal of trees at Ethel Tucker Park

Okotoks town council held a special Good Friday Q and A on the Town Facebook page to defend the removal of trees at Ethel Tucker Park for the building of the proposed Arts and Learning Campus along Riverside Drive – and to defend the project itself - but residents say it was too little, too late.

Nicole Watkins, a long-time Okotoks resident, never intended for her Facebook post lamenting the Town's intent to remove trees in Ethel Tucker Park to become the spark that ignited a community movement, but on April 13 she found herself in the park with upwards of 20 other residents in protest of the work after crews took out one large tree trunk.

"She (Ethel Tucker) was honoured via this park and it was named a centennial park in her name in, I believe, 1995," said Watkins. "My frustration started out just as a Facebook post, and it was 'Hey, this isn't okay, now they're dishonouring her by taking away her park and that's not okay with me.'

"Then I went and had a nap, and I came back from my nap and there was 200 comments and 150 shares. I was very surprised it had received that much attention and had gone viral in that short amount of time."

Her takeaway was the issue was not well-explored by Okotoks residents and that the community hadn't had the opportunity to weigh in on the decision to develop the Arts and Learning Campus on the site.

Mayor Bill Robertson said the project going ahead should not be a surprise to anyone.

“We have been planning the arts and learning campus project for almost a year,” he said during the discussion on April 10. “We have done extensive community consultation on this.”

Robertson said the $23.3 million budget was approved in May 2019 for the project. That number was reduced to $18.3 million when Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools announced it would contribute $6 million to the project.

The campus will include expanding the Okotoks Public Library, as well as housing Bow Valley College, Community Futures, Foothills School Division (Cameron Crossing School), Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools (offices and St. Luke’s Outreach Centre), as well as limited retail space. The facility is projected to be 70,000 square feet, three storeys, located at the current library and adjacent parking lot.

The funding is coming from the various partners and provincial Municipal Sustainability Initiative grants over the years. There will not be an increase in Town taxes due to the project, Robertson said. 

Councillor Tanya Thorn also disagreed that there was little public consultation and spoke to question from the community on why the public didn’t get the chance to vote on the project.

“This project was approved way back in May through a consultation process to us getting to that (decision),” Thorn said. “The town is voting on that and you voted because you elected the seven officials that sit at this table… This isn’t something that we just overnight decided to do.”

She said there have been several open houses and open events concerning the issues.

The Town announced last week if weather permits, it will remove some trees along Riverside Drive in Ethel Tucker Park to prepare the area for construction of the campus. It will take several days to complete the work and the park will be closed to the public while tree removal is taking place.

Robertson, who has lived in Okotoks for more than 40 years, said he knew Ethel Tucker. Robertson, a former scout leader and a recreational enthusiast, said he has used the park several times.

“Twenty-two trees along the northwest edges are being removed, the rest will remain,” he said. “Remember we do have a policy of replacing more trees than we are taking out, either at that location or elsewhere in town. .

“Ethel Tucker will continue to be honoured in the new park. Her legacy and history is important to Okotoks and it will continue to be honoured.”

Thorn stressed Ethel Tucker Park will continue to exist.

Councillors were questioned as to how the Town can remove the trees before a development permit has been issued.

“The reality is we own the land, trees can be removed before the development permit is issued,” Coun. Ed Sands said.

Watkins said she spoke to the tree removal supervisor on-site April 13 about the controversy surrounding the park and removing trees prior to the Town's development permit for the site being approved at a public hearing on April 27.

"I explained to him what was going on and I said, 'As a business owner, if they don't get a permit for that second building and you felled all of these trees, that's going to be a massive black eye for your company, and if it was me I would want to know that,'" she said.

The public is welcome to make submissions regarding the permit to [email protected] in advance, and those statements will be read out during the hearing.

An online petition to save the trees, the park and concerns about the project has been started by the Okotoks Ratepayers Association and a Facebook page has been launched called Save Ethel Tucker Park.

"This is your last opportunity to make your voice heard so that council can hear us and know that this is not something we want," said Watkins.

Thorn said the project can be an economic driver as Okotoks comes out of the COVID-19 crisis.

“We are doing it in a manner that is going to support the economic development of our community,” Thorn said. “It is going to create an anchor in our downtown core that as we move forward out of this on an economic recovery basis is going to be extremely beneficial.

“Those social connection spaces like a library are going to be imperative in the social and mental well-being of our community.”

Coun. Matt Rockley said the project, with its education facilities, the library and proposed arts centre, will help businesses in the downtown core as patrons will shop, eat and spend the money in Okotoks.

Council was also asked why is the project is proceeding during the economic downfall in Alberta.

Robertson said the Province is urging municipalities to continue with projects.

“The Province has asked us (municipalities) to come up with more projects that they will put capital dollars to,” he said. “The Province understands that keeping the province working is to the benefit of everybody.”

He said provincial grants for capital projects must be used for capital projects.

Rockley added that if the grant funds were not used for the campus project it would likely be used in another municipality for a similar project.

"It wouldn't really save any tax dollars," Rockley said. "It would make those tax dollars spent (on the campus) in another community instead of Okotoks."

The Town is hoping to have the project completed sometime in 2021.

For more information about the Okotoks Arts and Learning Campus project, visit www.okotoks.ca/campus2020.

With files from Bruce Campbell