A firestorm has been raging on social media for the last few weeks over whether or not a local resident should be allowed to mow the grass at a municipal park.
Jason Reynolds, the organizer of a flag football league, was sent a trespassing notice from the Civic Centre after two years of being asked to stop cutting the grass at Lark Park in Chatham.
The issue was front and centre at last night’s municipal council meeting, and Mayor Darrin Canniff says of the 103 other groups using parks throughout the municipality, none have individual residents mowing the lawn.
“We weren’t telling the league they couldn’t play, we very much support the league. In fact, last year we subsidized 13 of their kids that played through municipal programs. We just said please don’t cut the grass, you’re not insured, you’re using the proper equipment et cetera, we just want him to follow the same protocol as every other sports organization.”
Ward Six councillor Michael Bondy says the whole situation could have been handled better.
“Obviously Jason’s no angel, he didn’t do everything correctly, he didn’t check off all the boxes, but the trespass order I thought was a little heavy, to say the last. Now here we are with a public relations disaster on the municipality,” Bondy says. “I’m confident we can come to terms, sit down with Jason, get all those boxes checked of, and have this league reinstated as soon as COVID restrictions allow for it.”
Municipal officials will be meeting with all local groups that use the park to identify their long-term needs, particularly when it comes to field maintenance and safety standards. As well, a report will be put together on potentially waiving user fees for youth sports for the next couple of years.
“I think that it’s really clear how much everyone values youth sports in our community and this has been an unfortunate issue that we’ve been dealing with,” Councillor Brock McGregor says “I think there’s a real opportunity of picking the ball up and moving forward and making sure that when the province lets us gets back out there, that things are ready to go and we’re all on the same page.”