The recently released Spirit Square proposal for Keremeos’ Memorial Park is raising the eyebrows of many of the village’s electorate.

An open house to view the proposal and offer an opinion took place on Monday, June 29 at the village council chambers. Public response to plans have been mostly negative to date, with the village having received roughly 17 against, four in favour, and three with more or less neutral opinions.

What is disconcerting to many is the degree to which the Spirit Square initiative has morphed into since public input was sought last year.

A public meeting held last November 24 in Victory Hall brainstormed ideas from the public for the Spirit Square funding. Approximately 25 people turned out to offer suggestions for improvements to the park, centring around a $62,500 Spirit Squares funding grant.

(Spirit Squares is a provincial initiative designed to “create, useable, central environments in communities where the public can congregate, participate, or be entertained,” according to provincial govermnment news releases.)

Priorities identified at the meeting included creating additional greenspace, signage, and pathways. Something that would recognize First Nations culture was also a high priority, as was enhancing the water park.

At the time of the meeting, discussion dealt mainly with improving the northwest corner of the park, between the Infocentre and Fourth Street.

The June 29 meeting presented a vastly different design proposal, which is proving to be a surprise to many. The proposal envisions a complete makeover of the park, with Fourth Street closed between Seventh Avenue and Veterans Avenue to become a pedestrian walkway. A “dry river” would bisect the park, extending from the present landscaping in front of the village office and splitting the park diagonally. Other changes would include an orchard, wine garden, a rail theme area, enhanced parking and a relocated water park. Total cost of the upgrades are estimated at $191,300. (The Spirit Squares contribution of $62,500 requires the village to match the funding in order to receive the full grant.)

“The input from the public during last November’s Victory Hall meeting included ideas for more than just the park’s northwest corner,” Chief Administrative Officer Joni Heinrich told the Review. “The Spirit Squares grant funding critieria wouldn’t allow the money to be used just for that corner - the requirement is to make an area into a central community gathering place.”

Heinrich went on to say that the plans were formulated by a landscape architect who has experience creating other Spirit Squares in B.C.

Council was recently presented with two proposals, essentially the same, with one requiring the closure of Fourth Street, which council favoured.

Most of those responding with comment to date are opposed to the closure of Fourth Street, especially in light of recent subdivision approvals for the area south of Seventh Avenue. In addition, the village recently paid over $100,000 to have Fourth Street completely rebuilt in front of the village offices last fall.

Other comments see the proposal as countterproductive, because the new amenities would reduce gathering space in the park to the point that none of the popular events currently taking place would be possible, most notably Kars Under the “K,” and Sizzlefest.

The Review has a poll on this issue as well, and can be found on our web site. The question posed is:

“Are you in favour of the proposed changes to Memorial Park that have developed as part of the village’s Spirit Squares initiative?”

Please let us know your thoughts. To find the poll log onto our website :

keremoesreview.com and look for the question midway down the middle of the page.