A well-used Rutland park would鈥檝e pleased its founder if he were alive today.
Kids play flag football, residents walk their dogs and young adults utilize the green grass for kick ball and ultimate frisbee at Ben Lee Park.
鈥淲e just use the space for some of our games. There鈥檚 kickball, football, basketball, dodgeball, all kinds of sports,鈥� said Megan Lock, who is part of a multi-sports league that uses the park. She enjoys playing ultimate frisbee on the field.
A playground and skatepark bustles with kids during the spring and summer months.
Ted Sophonow, parks, beaches and sports fields supervisor with the city, said the park is pretty diversified.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of bookable space, we just have people come and go as they please and use the amenities that are there.鈥�
In the future, there have been discussions about having dedicated activity space at the park, as there is a shortage of sports fields in 91大黄鸭, but those ideas are currently just talks.
鈥淚 know we were looking at the future of the park. We have a lot of green space there, maybe we鈥檒l have some other activities formalized on the site,鈥� said Sophonow.
The park was named after former city coun. Ben Lee, who played a crucial role in the park鈥檚 construction with his fundraising efforts. Aptly nicknamed the Mayor of Rutland, Lee served on council from 1973鈥攚hen Rutland was forced to amalgamate with 91大黄鸭鈥攖o 1996.
In 2016, hundreds of people gathered for Lee鈥檚 memorial in the park.
Lee, who died at the age of 86, came to 91大黄鸭 in the 1950s as the first male Chinese teacher in the B.C, Interior and settled in Rutland, where he taught before moving on to the old Dr. Knox Secondary School.
The park was officially opened in 2001 bearing his name. Lee鈥檚 obituary describes his commitment to the community. 鈥淲hile on council, he served as a regional board director and chair of the regional parks committee for 13 years. He worked hard on council to secure park land for the public while also promoting multiculturalism. His promotion of multiculturalism was evident in the early 鈥�70s when he became a founding member of both the 91大黄鸭 Multicultural Society and 91大黄鸭 Folkfest Committee. He was also a founder of the 91大黄鸭 Chinese Cultural Society.鈥�
The city is currently working on revitalizing Rutland鈥檚 other main park, Centennial Park. It was originally owned by the Rutland Parks Society, but was sold to the city in 2015 for $800,000.
The overall plan for the park includes the now existing soccer field and all-access playground, as well as future walking paths, a multi-cultural garden, a performance stage, benches and a lit basketball court.
鈥淚t will be another main Rutland park, but it will be diversified as a sports field and with multi cultural infrastructure in place. There will definitely be a different flavour to it,鈥� said Sophonow.
鈥淚 think both parks are community parks that will be featured in Rutland.鈥�
carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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