SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin
City council last week agreed to set Oct. 21 as the hearing date for the second and third reading to redesignate the 23.35 acre old rodeo grounds from parks to quasi-public to allow for a new school.
City council approved the location during a meeting in March, however, it has to go through a public hearing before the final approval.
The original date was Sept. 16 but it was rescheduled to allow for more time for planning, consultation and communication with stakeholders.
Depending on public input council is expected to give second and third reading after the hearing.
If third reading is passed the recreation designation of the old rodeo grounds will no longer be applicable as it will become a home to a new school with a quasi-public service designation.
On Tuesday, after the Bulletin went to press, the city-county Intermunicipal Development Planning (IDP) committee was scheduled to meet to discuss the development of the old rodeo grounds.
The IDP was formed to discuss development on lands that border municipalities. The last city-county IDP meeting was in 2021.
Following an in-camera discussion with the catholic school board earlier this year, city council made a motion to redesignate the entire property for the new high school despite the fact that public surveys about the property have shown that the public wants to see the land as a recreational park. They city is saying that part of the land will be a park, however, the entire portion of the property will turn over to the Catholic School system.
The school wants to have the property in place so they can go to the province with a confirmed piece of land to receive funding. A municipality is responsible to provide land and because the old rodeo grounds property is owned by the city, council agreed rather than purchasing a more appropriate parcel, such as, near the French school.
