Treasure Beach Sports Park Meeting November 26, 2004

Meeting commenced at 5:26 p.m.
Prayer was offered by Mrs. Maureen Powell.
A welcome was given by Mrs. Sheila Hamilton. She encouraged the community to give their honest opinions. Mrs. Hamilton also introduced M.P. Donald Buchanan.
M.P. Donald Buchanan, from the Ministry of Water and Housing, explained that he acquired 16 acres of land in Treasure Beach. The land was for sale and discussions were held with Mr. Jason Henzell to discuss having this land made available for a community facility development with the focus on sports. The land was purchased for just over J$10 Million. Mr. Buchanan stated that the government doesn’t intend to develop a sports attraction in Treasure Beach, rather it may evolve independently through the community or private sector. He also stated that he was at the meeting to discuss how to go forward from here.
Mr. Peter Kennedy-are there any plans or proposals in place for the land already? No. All suggestions from the previous meeting are recorded, but the process had to wait until the land title was cleared.
Concerns at the last meeting were to do with large international events and the problems arising from them: traffic, noise, parking, waste. This is not what the Sports Park is envisioned to be.
The land has been leased to Breds through a “peppercorn lease”. Digicel has also shown interest in supporting the park through Breds.
Rebecca Wiersma-feels like she needs to be educated what the vision of the sports complex is and the capacity for the area. Mr. Buchanan stated his vision was a place for the community to be involved in a large number of sporting activities, organized enough so that it would become a tourist destination. For example, a local cricket team from England would come here to train and bring their family to stay in local guest houses. Not looking to host large international events.
Ms. Rebecca Wiersma-is 100% for community sports development, but an international team has different needs than the community. Mr. Buchanan said that he was not talking about professional teams, but rather small village teams.
Ms. Sandy Tatum-the concept is a good one, but the main concern seems to be arising because the land is surrounded by residential areas who want to maintain their quiet standard of living. Mr. Henzell responded that the community itself will be running the park, not the M.P. and right now we are just getting ideas. Mrs. Tatum stated that tourists’ coming in to use the park is contradictory to a community sports park. Mr. Buchanan stated that the land is owned by the Ministry of Water and Housing so if the land doesn’t become a sports park, it could definitely be used for housing.
Mrs. Norma Moxam stated that the sports park is a good idea for the community as long as it is properly managed. Mr. Buchanan responded that there has to be structure for the management of the park, with the involvement of the State and community.
Mr. Henzell asked that the general consensus was people were for the park as long as it doesn’t go after large international events and all the negatives that come with that. Also, no one wants a large music venue either.
Ms. Lisa Ginzel-concerns are not about small fields and parks, but rather years down the road people may want to build a huge stadium which will bring in large crowds. \
Mr. Buchanan stated that the government will not fund such a project. The community will be driving the development of the land.
Ms. Sandy Tatum-what is the next step?
Mr. Henzell posed the question if people were comfortable with Breds as a manager in partnership with a community committee, and if so, then would they also be comfortable in allowing low-density drawings being created for the placement of different types of sports fields on the land? The drawings would then be put forward to the community for approval.


**I apologize for any mis-spellings and mis quotes, I did the best I could with the rapidly-paced meeting!

Thanks for the update. Speaking only for myself, as one from "foreign", while I have my own thoughts on this, I would never say anything one way or the other. I wish only the best for the citizens of St. Bess and hope only the best results whatever they decide. I ask only that you keep us involved by continuing to give us information on what could be a major turning point for our much loved destination.

Off the top of my head it strikes me that TB could benefit from a sports facility to serve the acknowledged talents of Jamaica i.e. cricket, atheletics and football.

An international "arena" facility I gather is not desireable or, indeed, affordable.

So why not start simple: lay a cricket pitch and establish 2 or 3 football fields? Both "relatively" inexpensive. A good running track would be another thing - costly.

With a decent cricket square and ground and, with a suitable pavillion, the facility would also be attractive to British school parties who currently use facilities in other WI islands during winter months.

This would generate income for both the sports facility & the community - I guess that local accomodation could support a team or two and their hangers-on? Go for it and I'll handle the British promotional end for you all!!!

What's wrong with aspiring to eventually reach the stage where we can host an occasional Four-Day First Class, or a Regional One-Day cricket match?
These events come only once a year (unlike the big American sports and English professional football, which are almost year-round) and, with proper planning, would not be beyond the capacity of the community to handle.
Remember now, we're talking medium to long term here.
Furthermore, cricket has long been a part of the culture of Treasure Beach, and, I believe, one way of sustaining it at the village level is to provide the youth with the occasional opportunity to see the stars 'up front and close'!
Nor should the potential financial spin-offs for community members from this and other (properly organised) sporting events be ignored.
Of course Treasure Beach is also in need of space to accommodate other community facilities. It's an area that has never had the benefit (or curse!) of having substantial parcels of state-owned land; which means it has always been difficult to secure space for structures such as a health centre and a public library.
And, while we're at it, how about looking elsewhere in the community for suitable lands to establish a public cemetery?
Times are changing, and the days of 'family plot' burials are surely numbered! This may be one idea on which the churches in the community could take the lead - pool their resources and public donations to purchase the land, then, perhaps with some help from Local Government, develop an attractive cemetery. Yes! I did say 'attractive'! Cemeteries do not have to be dull and austere. They can be a reflection of a community's history and heritage... could well be an added visitor attraction, for some people. I can think of a few parcels of land that would fit the bill, but will not identify them in this forum!

Just a few thoughts for others to chew on. Feel free to share your views!

its a good thing to have a place where people from Treasure Beach could go for sports and other activities. But someone told me their planning to have space for 500 cars to park there. How can we handle so much traffic when our roads are so bad? And I think most of those 500 cars would not have just one person in it. So that means we might have 1000 or 2000 EXTRA people in TB. That could mean a lot of problems such as noise, bad traffic, fighting, and maybe robbing houses. When people go to a sports event they are not always very polite and quiet. We need a good place for teenagers but we do not need the trouble this place will cause. TB is a quiet place. Thats why tourists come here and feel safe. We do not need to make another Negril here. We could have a sports place but it might mean we will drive away the tourists.

I do agree a Cemetery would be a good idea but where in Tb is there sufficient land for a project this big. The lands I can vision in my mind are either in front of homes or land that Parents have given to their children so they can build for themselves and their famalies.And then there are land needed for cultivation and rearing of cattle seeing that It's not everyone that likes Fishing, our biggest way of income, apart from the fortunate ones that can go into the Tourist business and build Guest- houses,Restaurants etc,etc,which by the way is also income for many.

I think eventually the time will come when families will bury their love- ones in cement stackable vaults like they do in some parts of the States, Japan , China, and many other countries all over the world.No one say you have to be burried beneath the ground.

Well for now I have shared my views but, at the same time maybe their is "Land in TB" I really do not know about so pleaase do not Crucify me.

Thinker:
I can think of a few places 'on the back page' in T. Beach that could be converted to use as a cemetery.
I am concerned about the fact that already there have been several instances of family lands being sold to others who, having no respect for the history, heritage or sentiments associated with the graves on those lands, simply buldoze them to make way for new developments.
There are many sons and daughters of the community, currently living abroad, who, in the future, when they or their children come home to Treasure Beach, will not even have a grave site to associate with their family history!
Now is the time to make preparations for an acceptable alternative, which will preserve that important part of our heritage, while not unnecessarily standing in the way of controlled, moderate development.
I welcome your thoughts and those of others who may be interested in this subject.
Earl

Am trying to remember but i may not have it right. Are they putting the sports park in a place where it floods if there is bad rain? If its going where I think, they may need to spent losts of extra money for specil draining systems.

Someone help me out here because its been a little more than a year since I visited Tb.

Exactly where in TB are they thinking about?

Treasure Beach Sports Park ,its been over three years since the land was acquired for building a Sports Park what has happen to the land and the sport park ,anyone has an update ,please for some info.

T.B. The park is not yet built,the land is still there,but it was sub lease to jakes,be patient man things will happen .. big things.

Thanks Uncle Don, can you tell more?

Looking forward to good things.

Hi guys where is this land located.

Canada 2 the land is Maas Alvin property "Shawpond",the lane by the primary school,or by Miss PT take you there; nice piece of property,I think it was already chopped out and cleaned ,the designs were posted at the BREDS office,very impressive and will go a long way in improving the facilities in Treasure Beach, let us all support this worthwhile cause.
See you all on the tennis courts soon.

Is there any time frame on when this sport park going to be built , if the land is already purchase why has nothing been done, this sound good for treasure beach so i think the citizens of treasure beach should come together with their M.P to see if they can get something started .

lookign forward to the tennis courts

After reading the notes from the meeting (the first post in this thread), it seems that there is still no solid plan for what will be built.

I've heard all kinds of ideas from a huge sports park to "just a likkle someting" for the local kids to have a place to play cricket and football.

The architect plans that I saw a couple years ago had parking for 500 cars.

I'm happy to see that there are discussions going on and I imagine that it will all be worked out appropriately within the community, but let's all keep in mind that until the plans are formalized no knows what's going to be done with the land.

As we've seen with the canal, poor planning for a big project can make things worse than they were to start with.

Like cutesy street signs, tennis courts are a complete non-essential to both locals and visitors alike. Few visitors are keen on playing tennis in the heat and only one property, Hikaru, has a non-regulation court. In 10 years, we've had maybe 2 or 3 requests for access to tennis by guests. Great Bay
has/is developing soccer/play fields for local kids. Southfield and Junction and Nain have
clubs and facilities already in use by TB local teams.The market will determine the demand for a sports park, not the self-aggrandizing plans of a few. And given the economy, the visitor market is Canada and Europe right now, not sports teams.

Amen, Eric. People shouldn't get too excited until they know all the facts. Not just the ones they are willing to hear.

change of government...change of plans.....

So why not free up the land so the youths can get somewhere to play cricket and football.The land may be leased out but obviously there are zero plans for development on the horizon. After all, if I understand correctly it is government land or did I miss something?

People of TB would beware of anyone promising sports parks, especially ANY not in keeping with the scale of the rest of TB. Look at the poor planning and the overkill of the canal. Careful what you wish for, unless you carefully consider all the possible consequences.

Couldn't agree with Tiverton House more about "cutesy signs" and tennis courts.

Hi curious well said.