Parks commission opens up meetings to public

Parks commission opens up meetings to public. City Councillor Vince Kerrio, who represents the city on the Niagara Parks Commission board, helped set the stage for opening up NPC meetings to the public in December.

The Niagara Parks Commission ushered in a new era as it opened meetings to the public for the first time in its 124-year history.

The Oak Room, 7400 Portage Rd., was crowded as residents and the curious came to see what has until now been cloaked in secrecy.

Commission councillors, led by chairman Archie Katzman, began the procedures by thanking everyone for coming out.

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor addressed both the commission and the audience, saying the time for transparency and openness has come.

“I hope the turnout today makes it clear that the public cares about the parks and wants to know what’s going on,” said Craitor. “I think the public up to now have not been aware of everything that goes on and exactly what it takes to run it. From now on they will get a better understanding.”

The Niagara Parks Commission is an agency of the provincial government that maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River.

The NPC manages numerous trails, historic sites, picnic areas and other attractions. These include Journey Behind the Falls, the Butterfly Conservatory and the Queenston Floral Clock, to name a few.

The NPC also maintains its own police service.

Niagara Falls city councillor Vince Kerrio, who represents the city on the Parks Commission board, spearheaded this change to open meetings, in response to the ongoing call by the public and provincial government for more transparency. The decision was backed by all of the other commissioners.

The meeting was similar to a city council meeting where topics were raised and brought to the table by commissioners. The council then made decisions on whether to move or pass an issue brought forth.

Some of the topics brought up in the first open meeting included the future of Niagara Parks Police, private bids for running boat tours at Maid of the Mist and how to comply with new provincial accessibility standards.

Margaret Dunn, from the Preserve Our Parks citizens’ group, agreed that this was a historical day and accomplished the first goal of the organization.

“I’m thrilled to be here today,” said Dunn. “I’m surprised that Katzman was surprised by the turnout, we’ve been lobbying for this since 2004.”

Dunn said the next test is to see just how responsive the commission will be, noting that at present, commissioners’ phone numbers and emails are still not available to the public.

“This is just the beginning,” said Dunn. “We will continue to attend and have a voice about the future of Niagara Parks.”