ST. PAUL - The County of St. Paul decided Friday to delay opening its municipal parks for the month of May at least and will re-evaluate the decision in the middle of the month. The move came on the heels of the province announcing it has temporarily suspended camping registrations for its provincial parks.
County council briefly discussed its municipal campgrounds during last Tuesday’s meeting, held online using the Zoom meeting platform. CAO Sheila Kitz informed council at that time that staffing was in place for all the municipal campgrounds but opening dates would be dependent on provincial public health directives. County parks traditionally open the Thursday before the long May weekend and close on the Monday of the September long weekend.
“We are waiting to find out if we will or can open. I think those are some decisions that need to be made fairly soon. We are hoping the province and the federal government will lead the way on this. However, the council will need to be making a motion on whether we delay or close them altogether for the season.”
Tim Mahdiuk, Director of Community Services, informed council that at that point in time no public order has been issued by the province for municipal parks but the information received so far stipulates municipalities must have a plan in place.
“ What we’ve been told is you shouldn’t be opening any of your shower rooms, your washrooms, close your playgrounds and you’ve got to deal with your day use area plus you should only be operating at 50 per cent,” he said Tuesday, adding “We are getting tight timelines as to whether or not we go in May.”
Online reservations for the county’s parks opened on March 1 with 168 bookings to date, most of them being for the May long weekend, Kitz said during Tuesday’s meeting.
“From my perspective I don’t think May makes sense at all. We are only supposed to peak in the middle of May from what they say.”
At the time, Mahdiuk said whatever decision is made will need to be coordinated with the Town of St. Paul and Town of Elk Point as to what they plan on doing so everyone is on the same page.
“Everything to do with this pandemic is a moving target at this point,” Reeve Steve Upham observed, speaking of the difficulty in making an immediate decision.
Council was to re-visit the issue at the public works meeting later this month, but instead made the decision to delay opening the parks during a budget meeting Friday.
At the same time, council also approved a motion to cover the $5 cancellation fee charged by Camp Reservations Canada for any campsite booked for the month of May.
Earlier in the day, Alberta Parks announced it is suspending and refunding camping reservations up to and including May 19, indicating “the suspension is in place until the province’s medical officer of health is confident the health and public safety risk from COVID-19 is reduced.”
The province will notify customers with existing reservations up to May 19 via email. All fees paid will be refunded with the expectation that it may take up to two weeks to process.
Additional cancellations beyond May 19 may also become necessary.
“Dispersed random camping on public land is currently permitted, but further restrictions may be necessary in the future as the COVID-19 situation continues to unfold. Campers should be aware that a fire and recreational off-highway vehicle ban is currently in place in the Forest Protection Area. All random campers must follow the directions of the chief medical officer of health, including physical distancing and no mass gatherings,” reads a statement from the department.
In late March, the province suspended vehicle access to all provincial parks, parking lots and staging areas on public lands.
