Invermere council received a letter from a kid requesting more playground equipment, declined to provide public space in town for a circus without animals and received three letters from library advocates about the future involvement of the Invermere library in the new multi-use centre, during its most recent council meeting.
The letter requesting more playground equipment at the July 22nd council meeting was written on a piece of blue construction paper and asked Invermere mayor Gerry Taft if he would consider getting construction workers to build a swing set “with a big hole in the top (of the swing) and two in the bottom, so you can stick your legs through” at both Kinsmen Beach and at James Chabot provincial park.
The letter appears to possibly have been written for the youngster by an adult, but was likely signed with kid’s own initials, H.J.
Invermere chief administrative office Chris Prosser pointed out that, to meet safety standards, swings sets require space around them equivalent to three times the height of the swing set, meaning that although a swing set on its own may not be so large, it occupies quite a lot of space in a given playground.
“We’ll keep this (letter) in mind when we talk about parks in the future,” said Taft.
Dr. Von Houligan’s Carnival of Calamities submitted an application to use public space in Invermere at the council meeting. Councillors voted unanimously to direct the carnival organizers to instead look at using a large tract of private property in the district, such as the one beside the Curling Centre, used for the bullriding event.
“That’s the most appropriate place for it,” said councillor Paul Denchuk.
Several councillors commented on the lack of detailed information about the event.
“The website for it is pretty sparse,” said Taft.
The carnival organizers describe their event as a circus without animals, have an 80-foot (24-metre) by 100-foot (30-metre) tent and advertise balance artists, escape artists, mimes, jugglers, stilt walkers, characters and clowns, fire performers, magicians and illusionists among their attractions.
Council received three letters — from Friends of the Library, Connie Watson and Susan Webster — expressing opinion to the effect that the Invermere library should be included in the new multi-use centre. The letters were all written and dated prior to the the June 24th multi-use centre committee meeting, at which it became apparent that neither the library nor the Valley Fitness Centre would be able to fit in the multi-use centre’s first phase. During the June 24th meeting committee members decided that representatives from both organizations should still be part of the committee (in non-voting capacities) and that planning and designing of the multi-use centre’s second phase (which will include the library and a fitness centre) should be done concurrently with design and planning of the first phase, with the understanding that there is not enough money for construction of the second phase until some point in the future.
