Parker to make pitch for Rideau Park

Outgoing Brandon Coun. Glen Parker plans to bring forward a motion at his final council meeting on Monday for staff to look at lighting up Rideau Park.

Parker first floated the idea to the Sun in a May interview, when he announced he would not seek re-election after 10 years as the Ward 9 and Riverview councillor.

“I want administration to take a serious, hard look at doing something here,” Parker said on Thursday.

“I’d like to see the park lit completely with some version of LED lighting, some white lights, and to dress it up.”

He also wants the old, partially rusted water tower that watches over the park to be spruced up, which could also include lighting.

“I always believe that Rideau Park is a big, magnificent piece of property in our city,” Parker said.

“The way I look at it is, it’s good now, but it could be really good. We don’t need to settle for good. We should be striving for a little bit better than that.”

The upgrades could also include a picture station, he said.

Parker, Ward 2 Coun. Kris Desjarlais and Ward 3 Coun. Barry Cullen are not seeking re-election in the Oct. 28 vote.

Lighting up the park, Parker said, would help make the neighbourhood a destination, where people could spend a couple hours of their day.

While “people from Moose Jaw” likely won’t make a special trip to the park, Parker said it could serve as a place for people from nearby communities to visit and go tobogganing during a trip for groceries, as an example.

“They might come in and end up staying an extra hour to have a snoop around, get some pictures, or who knows exactly what,” he said. “It’s not going to be the be-all and end-all for economic development for the city. That’s not the point.”

He said the water tower and park are Brandon’s version of Boissevain’s Tommy the Turtle, or Melita’s Sunny the Banana.

While his proposal for city administration to take a serious look at the idea could take a while, the city should put away money to carry out the project, he said.

“Hopefully, it’ll get at least to the point where we take a seriously hard look at it, and I’m sure we can find the money to get it done somehow.”

The water tower was built in 1930 and decommissioned in 2003. It was slated to be demolished in 2012, but city council cancelled the plan due to public outcry. A city official in 2017, following a structural assessment, said the tower was in “surprisingly good condition.”

Asked whether he thinks the rest of council — and a new iteration of council — would be on board with the plan, Parker said his “crystal ball’s a little foggy,” but he hopes there will be support during his last council meeting.

Based on some conversations with residents, he doesn’t think people who live nearby would have concerns over the plan for additional lighting.

The three candidates registered in the Ward 9 election to replace Parker are Scott Pedlow, Keith Waterfield and Norah Woychyshyn.

» alambert@brandonsun.com