The granite sculpture of a mother bear and her two cubs will be leaving its familiar spot in front of the Creston and District Community Complex, but it won’t be going far.
Bear Circle, a sculpture by former Creston Valley resident Stewart Steinhauer, is destined for a feature spot in the Creston Community Park, now under construction on the west hillside of CDCC.
The trio of bears has been on loan by the artist for several years, but the Creston Valley Public Art Connection recently completed the purchase, and its offer to turn its ownership over to the Regional District Central Kootanays was accepted at the June 6th meeting of the Creston Valley Services Committee. (CVSC)
“Bear Circle is a stunning work and the public has generally assumed that we already own it,” CVSC chair and Area B director Tanya Wall said at the meeting. “Now through the great work of the Public Art Connection, we will.”
Randy Fediuk, manager of recreation at the community complex, said that discussions have already taken place with the park contractor to find a suitable location.
In other CVCS news:
• Fediuk reported that work is proceeding apace on the Creston Community Park site, with some concrete retaining walls having been poured in the last couple of weeks.
“Work on the skatepark will be quite entertaining when they start using shotcrete to form some of the curved retaining walls,” he said. “We don’t see that done much around here.”
Shotcrete is a method of applying concrete by projecting it at high velocity through a hose.
The contractor responsible for the skatepark construction has been working for more than a month now. Another contracting firm, which will do the remainder of the park construction, including several different sports courts and landscaping, is expecting to begin work this week.
• Rental rates for ice, rooms and aquatic facilities at CDCC are under review, with the aim of aligning increases with the Nelson and Castlegar facilities, which are all operated by the RDCK.
The last increase was in 2017, and the services committee recommended that the increases reflect the most recent inflationary data, with a maximum set at 2.7 per cent.
“Fee increases may run the risk of excluding groups and individuals from participating and having access to affordable recreation services,” Fediuk said in his report. “Less frequent and larger rate increases can pose difficulty for some individuals and/or groups planning and budgeting for their programs and activities.
“There is a balance of user pay and taxation support that must be maintained for fairness to all citizens.”