It is important, we believe, to give credit where credit is due. Such is the case with the Rotary Club and Rotary Park Development Association for their efforts in rehabilitating a dilapidated and dangerous Rotary Park.

Many of the very same Deerwood residents, who so passionately opposed last year city council’s plan to turn Rotary Park into the first new low-income multi-family housing project built to be built by Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation in Thompson since one in Eastwood in 1990, have been as good as their word in fixing up Rotary Park, which had fallen into a disgraceful state of disrepair in recent years.

It is no secret we believed council should have gone ahead with the housing project in the best interests of the larger community – not just Deerwood.

“Unlike last year’s proposed meal tax bylaw, which failed to gain the support of the province, and this year’s likely proposal to charge residents more than $700 per year for metered water, with the creation of a water and sewer utility as soon as Jan. 1, 2011,” we wrote in an editorial Feb. 18, 2009, “council clearly had no stomach for this fight, which would have seen conflict of interest accusations flying against fully half of council.”

Local lawyer Alain Huberdeau, who has resided on Elk Bay since 1997, said he believed Coun. Harold Smith, who had recently moved over from the Manitoba Department of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs to work as executive director of the recently established Northern Housing Operations (NHO) branch for the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation, would have a conflict of interest if he were involved in the decision.

Smith said would declare a formal conflict of interest and not take part in deliberations on the matter at the planning board, development review committee, which he chairs, or council.

But Huberdeau also suggested councillors Oswald Sawh, the late Brian Wilson, and Charlene Lafreniere were also are in conflict of interest because of their connections then with the Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation (TNRC), either as board directors, or in the case of Lafreniere as executive director, a paid employee position, and the possibility TNRC might enjoy a material gain if the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation eventually gets the green light from the planning board and council for the Rotary Park project.

Approving the project would also have pitted council against the very well organized resident’s lobby from the Deerwood area, especially from Elk Bay and Lynx Crescent, intent on killing it

Wayne Hall, who has lived for 37 of his 48 years in Thompson on Elk Bay, in particular comes to mind here as someone who opposed the housing project but has been true to his word in working for the refurbishing of Rotary Park.

He was one of the almost 80 residents who packed the Thompson Planning District Board hearing Feb. 9, 2009 to express their unanimous objections the plans to develop the low-income multi-family housing on vacant land comprised of about a 3.3-hectare parcel that backs onto Deerwood Elementary School and is adjacent to existing residential development.

Hall said he was saddened that Thompson has forgotten it was originally a “planned city” and green space is a central element of that.

It was a point that speaker after speaker would make: the vacant land in and around Rotary Park comprises one of the last remaining green space areas in the inner part of the city.

Many speakers suggested that night if Thompson is serious about addressing its housing issues in a systematic way, instead of proceeding piecemeal with infill development, it should vigorously seek the necessary permissions and enter into negotiations with Manitoba Local Government, the Local Government District of Mystery Lake (LGD) and Vale to expand the city’s boundaries outward. Some such discussions have in fact taken place over the two years.

Some openly wondered how serious the housing opponents were about cleaning up and fixing up Rotary Park. Some even wondering if they were promises made just to give council some political cover and opt for a Plan B.

Almost 1½ years later, we can say the folks from the Thompson Rotary Club, for whom the park is named, and the Rotary Park Development Association, have been every bit as good as their word and more.

A new play structure that went up in Rotary Park over the July 17-18 weekend, came at a cost of $75,000, and is just the first phase of a program to redo the entire park, explained Wayne Hall – wearing his Rotarian hat.

Hall explained last week that to raise funds for the project, the Rotary Club held socials, sold fudge, sought out any available grants, and “raffled off everything you could think of.” Fundraising efforts started in March 2009, and by March of this year the group had surpassed the $75,000 necessary for this first phase.

Phase one also included horseshoe pits, which were installed last weekend, and Hall says additional picnic tables and barbecue pits will also be added in the near future.

“Kids love it,” said Hall, who mentioned that those aged 12 and under are particularly happy with the new structure. “Parents have been bringing children from all over the place.”

Future plans for Rotary Park are equally ambitious. “We’re hoping to do a splash park and a multi-use area that can be used for badminton or whatever in the summer and then as a skating rink in the winter,” Hall said. He also explained that it’s difficult to pin down a specific timetable for any of this because “it all depends on how fast we can raise the money.” To that end, the Rotary Club is continuing to push forward with fundraisers, including a social later this year. “We’ll just keep going until we get the funds,” said Hall.