Baseball and soccer fields at Cliff Gilker Park will remain closed until fall 2024.
Sunshine Coast Regional District Board made the decision at its May 25 meeting.
The board asked that a recovery program proposal to address the "turf failure" that saw the fields closed in January come forward in the 2024 budget discussions. Another 2024 budget proposal ask was to cost out a project to change the fields' irrigation source from the Chapman Water system to an onsite well. Initial budget discussions for next year are anticipated to start this fall.
A staff report considered by elected officials at the committee level on May 18 recommended against proceeding with the turf rehabilitation this year due to uncertainties related to the availability of water to irrigate the turf areas that require reseeding over the coming months. It also pointed out that a groundwater well was drilled at the park in 2018. During discussion, staff confirmed that the well at the site was capped and that testing indicated “sufficient flow of non-potable water” for field irrigation could be made available.
In 2018, the cost of hooking up and delivering field irrigation via the well was estimated at $80,000. Staff’s current cost estimate for the turf recovery program is $24,000.
Non-potable water sources part of water summit discussions
Board chairperson Leonard Lee spoke in favour of exploring the changeover of the park's field watering source, stating a preference to “use cheaper water to irrigate rather than treated water, which is in short supply.”
Board consideration of accessing non-potable water sources for purposes like field maintenance also provided a glimpse into the range of issues being discussed at the Coast local government water summit meetings. In response to a question from Lee, staff advised that those potential initiatives would be raised as part of that group’s May 25 meeting and that discussions on project specifics and funding sources could be scheduled for a subsequent water summit gathering.
Should the projects be funded in 2024, staff propose the work proceed that spring. The report stated re-opening of the fields would be reassessed based on the level of success of the recovery program.
Cliff Gilker Park fields were closed after damage to the turf rendered them “unsafe for public use” according to the staff report. It was stated the grass on the playing surfaces failed due to poor turf quality, the 2022 drought conditions as well as watering restrictions that stopped the use of drinking water for field irrigation, and excessive traffic wear.
