Board of Aldermen 12-28-2021 Page 21
Alderwoman Lu
Can you could read minds?
Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel
...because of the meetings that they had missed and that was the subject of the communication.
Alderwoman Lu
| didn’t Know you could read minds.
Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel
| read the communication.
Alderwoman Lu
Thank you.
Alderman O'Brien
Thank you, Madam President. | just really want to go on record that | do not support this and I'll tell you why. | know the
difference between a need and a want. Yes, | would like to see us purchase this property. It would enhance Greeley
Park. | agree with the proponents of this but is it a need?
Okay, let's look at it. Greeley Park already exists right now and today | would like, you know, whatever is the vote it
seems like we're going to be discussing it in the future. But | did ask Park Rec. who | was surprised to find out nobody
went up to the Director of Park Rec. on this issue and elicited their opinion. But | asked from what Alderman Lu read and |
says | would like to see the acreage and | would like to see the map of the city because in my idea when we have parks,
parks should be spread out through whole city. Okay. | remember we burnt down a building at the corner of Pine Street
and Ledge Street and we turned that into a park but | don't encourage the Fire Department or the city to go burning down
buildings to make more parks. But somehow Greeley Park exists. It’s a wonderful facility but | have been involved in
sports in the city and the one thing I've had, and I've referred to my colleague Alderman Caron, do we have enough sports
fields in the city? We've got plenty woods, but do we have enough sports fields? That always seems to have been a
problem in the city. We're trying to run a soccer program yet we haven't got enough. We most certainly can't put a soccer
program on a lot that of a building we burnt down.
So | look at this sort of as a want or aneed. Greeley Park is a beautiful facility. This will be in addition. Can we afford the
addition? Well, let's talk about the Fire Department for a second. Thirty years ago, this city did a study and said it needs
two more fire stations. To build a fire station is $2.5 million. Have we built the fire station in 30 years? Yep, we've just
had a meeting earlier how much the population has grown in this city. That's part of our job too - public safety and try to
look at it.
Now | look at the wards and | looked at several of the different ward maps. Ward 9 and Ward 1, my god somebody yeah,
somebody screwed the pooch with them. There's not many parks in Ward 1 and one of them - that little park on Thornton
Road was supposed to be a fire station that never got built. Other than that, what park is in Ward 1? If we're gonna
spend $2.5 million, they say maybe we should spread it around a little bit but were not. We're buying adjacent to a park.
Now somebody said, well, is this a Pandora's Box issue? It is. You go on record and voting for this. Yeah, too bad Camp
Doucette is gone in Ward 9. Yeah, it’s gone and that has a swimming pool. Let me remind you Ward 9 does not have a
swimming pool in the ward. Nowhere in the south end but that's gone. But you know development in Spindlewick is still
up there? Captains Corner development is still going on. They're gonna be knocking on the door. You got to put the big
boy pants on and really make a decision on really what we want to do with this. Yeah, it's a great idea if this was a utopic
world but | don't see the common right now.
Yes, we do a lot with conservation land and that's good, but | think we could do more with the parks and then open it up.
How can we say no? Now | go, | want to get back to Ward 9. | have in Ward 9 an acreage - Saint Andrews Park - 3.13
acres. I've been through three Division Park and Rec Directors trying to get the tot lot fixed. Way less than $2.5 million.
Am | correct to my fellow Aldermen of Ward 9 and it still hasn't been done yet | want to go out and spend $2.5 million.
