Pitt Meadows pumps the brakes on new art in Harris Road Park

Now is not the right time to add public art to Harris Road Park. 

That’s the message Pitt Meadows city council sent staff at a meeting Dec. 9, following a 4-3 vote against allocating $250,000 for a new art project at the popular park. 

Coun. Bob Meachen, who voted against the proposal, said the timing is off and any new artwork at Harris Road Park should wait until the autonomous Pitt Meadows RCMP detachment is complete. 

The detachment, which is expected to be finished in early 2026, may add a strong police presence to an area that has seen a lot of vandalism, added Meachen.

“I’m concerned that we do keep hearing issues of vandalism and so forth in this area,” he said. “I think this year is not the year to be spending a quarter of a million.” 

Couns. Mike Manion, Tracy Elke and Mayor Nicole MacDonald also voted against the proposal. 

Staff were looking to use money from the public art reserve — estimated to have a balance of $290,000 at the end of this year — to cover the public art project. 

However, the public art reserve could be allocated for another purpose, said Mark Roberts, the city’s chief administrative officer. That revelation swayed Manion, who was previously in favour of supporting the motion but later thought the money would be better spent elsewhere. 

“I was with approving this for the $250,000 until Coun. Meachen brought me back to reality,” he said. “Now that we’ve heard that it could be used for something else, I won’t be approving it.”  

The initiative would have allowed the city to send out a call for artists to submit ideas for different forms of artwork in the park, a method common in other communities but not typically used in Pitt Meadows. Typically, the city works directly with artists to create pre-approved projects such as murals and street banners. 

“By adopting this new process, it encourages greater creativity and invites a wider range of artistic proposals,” according to a staff report.

The motion was one of a handful of capital projects brought to council during the finalization of next year’s budget. (Pitt Meadows ultimately approved a budget of nearly $60 million, which will increase taxes for homeowners by $411.) 

The budget will cover a number of capital projects including the completion of the RCMP detachment, and construction of a double artificial turf and covered multi-sports box at Pitt Meadows Athletic Park, among other initiatives. 

Improvements to the Pitt Meadows Athletic Park, specifically, are expected to cost $18.7. The project was approved last year, and received a $5.4 million grant from the province in September. 

Coun. Gwen O’Connell said the city has an obligation to use the money in the art reserve for art projects. Although it’s a tough time financially for many, she said the city is putting a lot into Pitt Meadows Athletic Park and similar investments should be made in a place that is frequented by hundreds of people. 

“Harris Road Park is so well used,” she said. “If we quit building because of vandalism occurring we wouldn’t have any bus stops, we would have nothing in this community.” 

Mayor MacDonald admitted Harris Road Park is an important part of the community. But she’s in favour of seeing how recent improvements to the park — new washrooms and concession stands — and the upcoming RCMP detachment mesh with the park and its visitors before potentially adding any public art. 

“I struggle with this one but I do believe we need to take a pause,” said MacDonald, noting she would like to see the motion brought before council again and that the city hopes to keep the money in the art reserve fund. 

At the same meeting, city council also approved a permanent discontinuation of cross-street banners on Harris Road. 

Last year, council green-lit a one-year trial to stop using banners on one of the busiest streets in town, halting an initiative that began in 2012 to display announcements, events and activities. 

Staff observed no dip in attendance at many city events, and the city will save $15,600 per year by scrapping the project. (The decision will not impact the ‘Seasons Greetings’ sign currently displayed on Harris Road.) 

New hours to the library

The Pitt Meadows Library will be open on some holidays. 

For the next year, the library will be open on Saturday and Sunday on long weekends, following a unanimous vote from council at the Dec. 9 meeting. The library is currently closed on long weekends when the holiday falls on a Monday.  

The decision is expected to go into effect beginning on the Family Day long weekend in February. 

Down the road, if the extra hours can’t be funded within the city’s budget, the city can explore a property tax increase to fund the extension of library hours on long weekends.