The COVID-era reservation system at Kits Pool will not be going anywhere — at least not this summer.
Park Board Commissioner Marie-Claire Howard tried to get her motion calling for its removal heard during Monday night's meeting, but Chair Laura Christensen ruled that it "did not qualify as urgent business."
"I think it's important that as commissioners we understand and follow our procedures," Christensen said, before quoting the procedure bylaw, which states that, "urgent business means business that requires the urgent attention of the board in connection with public health or safety, a financial legal matter of significance to the Vancouver Park Board, or request for a leave of absence."
She went on to argue that doing away with the reservation system does not meet any of the aforementioned requirements, claiming that "through the reservation and time slot system, more users have been able to access the pool, resulting in increased revenue."
"Commissioner Howard could have submitted a notice of motion at our meeting two weeks ago, and we could have been debating this today," Christensen continued. "She did not."
She proceeded to suggest that the matter be moved to the next board meeting on September 15, but after pointing out that the pool will likely be closed by then, Howard withdrew her motion.
"To quote a sitting ABC city councillor," Christensen concluded, "this is not the wild west of expletive procedure, and I will be ruling that this motion does not qualify as urgent business."
Following the decision, Howard told the Western Standard she was "not surprised" by Christensen's decision.
Her sentiments were shared by many Vancouverites, not least renowned sports broadcaster Jody Vance, who has been at the forefront of the crusade to restore Kits Pool to its pre-COVID state.
"Brutal," she wrote in a post on X. "[The Park Board] is a dinosaur that is ruining [Vancouver] with bureaucracy."
Vance vowed to keep fighting, declaring, "we are only just beginning."
