City asking for public input on sports, recreation services as it looks to set next budget

The city wants to know what kinds of recreational spaces Edmontonians are looking for as a group of advocates push for more places to play.

The City of Edmonton is holding a series of drop-in sessions to receive input from residents on sports and recreation programming over the next three weeks.

The city said in a recent media release that every sport program and service “is being re-evaluated from the ground up,” making it “especially important that council hears from the people and organizations who depend on and deliver this work.”

Coun. Aaron Paquette, who represents northeast Ward Dene, calls the series of drop-in sessions “a preliminary conversation with the public,” with the challenge of trying to find new ways to deliver services when “there aren’t a lot of efficiencies left to find in the system.”

“We’ve been on austerity budgets for the past eight years, whether people know that or not, which means that even as your taxes go up, the services have stayed the same, or even gone down, so the taxes don’t go up even more,” Paquette told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

Mike Thome, the chief executive officer of the Edmonton and District Soccer Association, said Thursday his group has been approached by the city about their plan moving ahead with the budgeting process.

Thome said one idea that’s been offered by his association is the use of portable nets in order to be flexible in terms of where the sport can be played and by whom, given younger ages play on fields with smaller dimensions and use smaller nets.

“We can always hope that things get better,” Thome told CTV News Edmonton. “We always view sport as a constructive outlet, not just for adults, but for kids, building community, keeping people active (and) giving them something to do with their free time.”

One idea Paquette said he’s spoken about with Sport Edmonton, the non-profit city arm that advocates for sports and active recreation, and private developers is “working together” to offer better recreational opportunities that “the public is willing to pay for.”

“How can we work together ... in order to provide this for the public?” Paquette said. “Because the city is not the only builder in town, obviously, and we shouldn’t be, so if there is a solution that can be provided by the private sector, let’s work together and deliver that to Edmontonians.”

Administrative staff will take the feedback from the drop-in sessions as they build the 2027-30 budget.

Twelve drop-in sessions are slated to run 5:30-8:30 p.m. starting Thursday through April 30:

• Thursday: St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Junior High School (Ward Dene)
• Tuesday: Ridgewood Community League (Ward Sspomitapi)
• Wednesday: L.Y. Cairns School (Ward Papastew)
• April 16: St. Teresa Catholic School (Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi)
• April 20: Highlands School (Ward Métis)
• April 21: Whitemud Creek Community Hall (Ward Pihêsiwin)
• April 22: St. Lucy Catholic Elementary School (Ward Anirniq)
• April 23: St. Thomas More Catholic Junior High (Ward Nakota Isga)
• April 27: Northgate Lions Recreation Centre (Ward Tastawiyiniwak)
• April 28: Westglen School (Ward O-day’min)
• April 29: Blessed John Paul I Elementary (Ward Karhiio)
• April 30: S. Bruce Smith School (Ward Sipiwiyiniwak)

Feedback can also be given via a pair of online city tools:

• Balance the Budget: Explore this year’s operating budget and share changes you would make;
• What Matters to You: A survey of your priorities for city services and construction projects, and preferences for property taxes and user fees.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson