One Moose Jaw resident is concerned about the municipality’s new advertising and sponsorship policy, which he believes could change the atmosphere of parks and lead to unwanted promotions.
Michel Labonte submitted his concerns in a letter to city council for its May 13 regular meeting. He was also supposed to speak to council but was unable to attend the meeting.
A report from city administration pointed out that since there was no request for a reconsideration of the motion by any councillor, council’s decision on May 3 to accept the new policy is considered final.
“We are blessed here in Moose Jaw to live in such a beautiful environment,” Labonte wrote.
All of the green spaces that have been inherited are available for everyone to appreciate, enjoy and look after, he continued. Places such as Wakamow Valley and Tatawa Park are “some of the greatest jewels that we have.” He wondered how such parks would look in 40 years, and how people today want their grandchildren to experience such parks in the future.
“Do we truly want to implant in our public parks things like sponsorship ads that will keep distracting us from the enjoyment of interacting with the simple beauty of nature itself in our park?” Labonte asked.
Such advertising, he says, takes away from appreciating the history in the parks; such history must be respected, celebrated, honoured and maintained. Labonte suggested it was inappropriate to use the parks to acknowledge the generosity of financial donors, noting there should be other ways to do that.
Protecting parks’ visual and aural aspects are important so residents and visitors can have pleasant experiences in the community. Labonte thought the green spaces should be kept free of unnecessary information that would take away from the parks’ beauty.
One particular sponsorship that Labonte disliked was when a business made a donation to the Wakamow Valley and was allowed to install plaques at each end of the trail. He wants to see those plaques removed.
“I don’t go to our public parks to be distracted by ads,” he said. “I don’t appreciate having my mind invaded and influenced by stuff that I believe don’t belong there at all in the first place.”
By allowing such advertising, will the spirit of the parks be changed forever? Labonte asked. He pointed out there are so many benches with name plates that it’s similar to taking a cemetery tour; the mind becomes distracted by the shiny plaques.
Labonte was also concerned that the municipality might start a new program to adopt a tree, which would then allow plaques to be installed. He pointed out a new name could also be attached to the library or even Crescent Park if the price is right.
While he was OK with certain municipal and school buildings having names, he was worried that council might start changing — or adding — names simply because it could acquire $5,000 or $10,000. Some places, such as parks, should be off limits to advertisements.
Labonte had no problem with existing names of non-profit groups attached to parks, such as the Lions, the Kinsmen, or the Happy Park. He also had no problems with the Christmas sign along Langdon Crescent or the Burger Cabin’s small signs.
“I hope we will choose to keep the environment of all our parks free of sponsorship advertisements,” he added, “and that we will find new good ways to acknowledge the great generosity of those who support our parks … .”
