Administration would continue to monitor the gathering sizes at city parks in a grey zone situation. Should it become clear that public gathering sizes are not being followed at city parks, then there would be a report back to both Council and the CCG to indicate this and seek clarification on if park closures are warranted.

With the recommended extended closure of indoor recreation centres, the Parks Department would look to schedule any available Local 82 staff that could be redeployed from the recreation facilities to help with park and trail clean up, as the Department would like to provide an enhanced service for these amenities to address the anticipated increased usage.

The Parks Operations Department would make the necessary changes to snow removal in order to re-prioritize facilities that are open to staff, the public and tenants.

Risk Analysis:

If the region does not move to a grey zone, there is a serious risk in keeping the recreation facilities open during and immediately following the holiday break. With case counts increasing in the region, the holiday break is expected to bring families together and increase the spread of COVID-19 even further. With the community then entering the facilities, there is a greater risk for spread in the time immediately following the holiday. There have already been four (4) COVID-19 cases reported in our Arenas and Community Centres including users and staff. Keeping facilities open would also increase the risk of exposure to staff and other members of the public in those buildings. A shutdown until January 15, 2021 would help to mitigate that risk.

Shutting down the facilities has the risk of generating negative feedback from the public. Many already have ice time and/or classes booked and a shut down would require cancelling those bookings. Should the region be placed in the grey zone that would help to mitigate that risk, as the new restrictions would be what is forcing many cancellations.

There is moderate risk to leaving park washrooms open. While enhanced cleaning could be done, this would not ensure that cleaning was completed between public users. As there would be many high touch points within these amenities, there is further opportunity to spread germs if proper hand washing is not completed.

Climate Change Risks

Climate Change Mitigation:

N/A.

Climate Change Adaptation: