Sunday June 21, 2020 ~ LANGFORD, BC
by Mary Brooke, editor ~ West Shore Voice News
A few of the flags along Langford Parkway alongside Westhills Stadium were clearly tattered and torn, and left that way for several weeks until brought to the City of Langford’s attention by West Shore Voice News.
The City finally removed them all last week from that block where promotion of the city as a National Sports Capital has been brazenly presented on banners and poster boards since the launch of the Pacific FC inaugural season in April 2019 and the stadium expansion celebration in August of last year.
While the Westhills Stadium field is occasionally now used for training activities, there have been no professional sports activities, concerts or other large-audience gatherings there all year in 2020.
That’s due to restrictions on numbers of people allowed in confined spaces, as part of the physical distancing requirements of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the Canadian Premier League (of which the local Pacific FC team is a club) is working on a proposal that could see their 2020 professional soccer season proceed without fans in the stands.
Pandemic grinds on:
We are still in an active pandemic (even though Vancouver Island has not had a case for a few weeks, and no deaths for a while). Crowds of over 50 people will not be possible in the foreseeable future, said Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry last week. A shift to large gatherings will require there being a vaccine or effective treatment for the COVID-19 virus.
The financial impact on the Pacific FC ownership and City of Langford must be continuing to mount. West Shore Voice News has asked the City of Langford for a financial update on the impact of COVID-19 on stadium revenues and expenses; details are apparently to be available later this year.
According to Restart BC (last updated June 19) large-audience events will not be allowed until Phase 4, and we are yet still on the cusp of Phase 3.
The flags removed from alongside the stadium (with various themes including Pacific FC) are not to be confused with banners along Langford Parkway (and all around the city in high-traffic retail and road-travel areas) that promote sports and overall city themes year-round. Those are affixed within stands and seem to have greater durability.
Municipal maintenance during the pandemic:
During COVID-19, maintenance has understandably been in a bit of a catch-up process, including for areas of road cleaning in the early days of the pandemic and aspects of boulevard landscaping during the spring.
By comparison, road maintenance has continued in Langford during all phases of the pandemic, adhering to physical distancing and WorkSafeBC guidelines.
WorkSafeBC guidelines are available or in development for all sectors of the recovering economy in BC.
As the City of Langford’s transportation network expands, the work to maintain it also expands, as well as the budget for that.
The city has done a good job of keeping up with their maintenance program for roads, parks, trails and playgrounds.
City taxes:
City of Langford property tax revenues will help keep the city budget on an even keel. All tax classes have a deadline of July 2, 2020 but various deferral dates are available with staggered application of interest charges.