A group of Fernie residents are fighting to preserve a decades-old community fixture as Council moves to build a new hall for its firefighters.
The dirt, grass and rough sand at Prentice Park have fostered generations of community connection for locals like Anthony Anselmo.
“I’ve personally used it growing up,” said Anselmo. “My kids use it, my parents used it. The whole community uses this area.”
Now, that space faces increasingly certain death.
In October 2023, the City entered a public engagement period that yielded mixed responses on two potential fire hall locations: the Park on 5th Ave or 902 2nd Ave.
People showed strong support for a new fire hall, but generally preferred to explore alternative sites over either of those choices.
Choosing Prentice Park meant the loss of green space, but choosing 2nd Ave. posed a number of logistics- and safety-based concerns. In January 2024, Council was split 4-3 in favour of building over Servello Field.
“When the consultant was finished with their technical study – and that’s what it was – a pure technical aspect of where to build a fire hall in Fernie, they recommended Prentice Park.
“But what’s missing in this technical report is the community connection, the emotional, the social, the spiritual connection to this inner city parkland and what it means to this community.”
Some of the major concerns about 902 2nd Ave. included noise and traffic impacts on nearby neighbourhoods, as well as limits to future commercial or residential growth.
“It’s easy to put metrics to numbers, financials, taxes, money, but what’s hard is to measure the spiritual, social connection that inner city parks have on community, especially when they’re legally protected, and that’s why it was donated.”
The final inning of a 50-year field
Crow’s Nest Industries, which Shell Canada subsequently acquired, donated the land in William Prentice’s name during the 1970s, subject to the condition that the land be used solely for recreational purposes.
City staff have since contacted Shell to amend the covenant, with the company’s permission, once the design and funding have been finalized.
In July of this year, the City decided to pursue the Strategic Priorities Fund — a UBCM cash stream that would no longer require community approval to fund construction projects. This subsequently quashed a much-awaited referendum in the fall.
“The referendum, to be clear, was going to be around the financial aspect of borrowing money, but citizens were also going to use that as an opportunity to stop the project dead because of the location.”
Anselmo argued there should have been a referendum on location in the first place.
A petition to save Prentice Park garnered 961 signatures from the community of about 6,500. Several speakers also stepped up during a Special Meeting on August 19, but Council ultimately voted against building on 2nd Ave.
With the baseball diamond seemingly entering its ninth inning, supporters are prepared to take more drastic action.
“We are going to ask a court to do a judicial review, just to have a look at this and say ‘Hey, did the city do everything legally that they were supposed to do to move this project forward?’”
Ground is set to break in spring 2026 if the project goes through as planned.
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