A request from the Salmon Arm Pickleball Club for a defibrillator at Klahani Park will go to the city’s 2021 budget deliberations.
In a July 27, 2020 letter to city council, club president Kathy Nielsen said a defibrillator at the park would be of benefit to all park users, including club members.
“More than two-thirds of SAPC’s members are seniors. We assume there are also senior ball clubs utilizing the park,” wrote Nielsen.
Salmon Arm council considered the request at its Aug. 10 meeting. Council decided to forward it to what are called ‘specific referrals’ from the community. Staff will provide more information to council at budget time in response to questions asked.
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Nielsen wrote that if the city is unwilling to consider providing a defibrillator, the club would pursue a grant-in-aid from the city for the cost of the unit, which would then be for the club’s exclusive use. She said the club would still require a safe place to keep it and asked that the city consider allowing the club to return its metal cabinet to the courts, where the defibrillator could be kept locked.
During the Aug. 10 discussions, Coun. Debbie Cannon said when she was council’s representative on the Shuswap Recreation Society, she worked with the pickleball situation. She said the society went through a long process of deliberations before deciding the club had to move their metal cabinet from the courts.
Cannon said there are examples of different groups who have sponsored defibrillators for venues, such as at Shaw Centre and the curling club. She said if the city were to begin funding them, there could be requests for a number of public venues.
Couns. Louise Wallace Richmond and Tim Lavery said they would like to see the request be forwarded to the budget process. Lavery said he’d like to know what the priorities would be for defibrillators in the city.
Mayor and councillors present agreed to send the request to the budget’s specific referrals.
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