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Central Park: Park board ditches mediator, looks for new one

According to the park board, the services of the negotiator hired to help the city's community centre associations navigate their way through the proposed joint management agreement are no longer needed.

According to the park board, the services of the negotiator hired to help the city's community centre associations navigate their way through the proposed joint management agreement are no longer needed.

As first reported in the Courier in 2001, the park board has been negotiating with the city's community centre associations to finalize a new joint management agreement.

More recently, the Vision Vancouver-dominated park board wants to change the way community centres operate, including centralizing "core programs." The most contentious of the recommendations would see the park board take all revenues from room rentals and programs - money traditionally retained by the associations. The park board argues the money should be pooled into a general account to be distributed amongst "have-not" centres.

The park board and representatives from 12 community centre associations have been meeting on most Saturdays for months now in an attempt to hammer out an agreement both sides can live with. Until last week, professional mediator Terry Harris was part of those discussions. But that is no longer the case. In response to inquiries from the Courier, Vision Vancouver park board commissioner Niki Sharma confirmed Harris will no longer be involved in the ongoing talks.

"The project is now moving into the phase of discussions around finance and risk management which requires a special area of knowledge and expertise," Sharma wrote in an email. "We are seeking a new facilitator with experience in these areas of negotiation who will enable both parties to address their concerns."

According to Harris's resume, he has a degree in psychology from the University of B.C., a law degree from the University of Victoria, a certificate in conflict resolution from the Justice Institute of B.C. and attended an Advanced Mediation Workshop at Harvard University. Harris did not respond to a request for comment prior to the Courier's press deadline.

Sharma said the park board is working with the associations to choose a new facilitator, who will be mutually agreed upon. So far six community centre associations have opted out of negotiations and I hear a seventh is joining the ranks, but was not able to confirm that prior to press deadline.

One For All

The park board's new OneCard program launched at some community centres this week and depending on whether it's ratified, will be city-wide by September.

Until now, each community centre has had its own membership cards, but if approved the OneCard will allow access to all centres. The move, say some community centre associations, will basically make individual membership cards obsolete, a move they say can be problematic because government funding for non-profit organizations is often based on a membership list.

To that end, the six associations not in negotiations with the board sent Sharma a letter July 5 asking for a meeting to discuss concerns regarding the card, such as a loss of revenues from conventional membership cards.

Sharma said there will be no financial loss to the associations. "Most of the associations' revenues are obtained through user fees, this will not change," she wrote in an email. "Also, the interim agreement contains provisions for community centre associations to be compensated for any financial losses associated with accepting the flexipass and delinking membership fees with access."

Should the meeting between Sharma and these associations go ahead, I hope to update readers here in the near future.

sthomas@vancourier.com

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