City of Terrace’s leisure services department has been renamed to parks, recreation and culture to better reflect all the varied services they provide.
The proposal to rename the department was presented by the city’s director of leisure services, Tara Irwin during the March 28 council meeting.
According to Irwin, the term ‘Leisure Services’ no longer accurately captures the offerings and services provided by their department, nor does it reflect or embody the vision, goals, objectives captured in the 2016 Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
While the department is responsible for managing and operating the Sportsplex, Aquatic Centre, cemeteries and over 100 hectares of park lands and amenities, it also oversees a variety of cultural facilities including the heritage park among others. Last year they expanded services to include social planning and policy development and went on to hire a social development officer.
Parks, Recreation, and Culture better communicates the types of services the department provides within and beyond the Terrace community and also better captures recreation trends.
Secondly, renaming the department will also help them link various activities and services to multiple community objectives including health and wellness, combating isolation and loneliness as well as attraction and retention of new residents.
The updated name will better serve to capture these services and amenities offered by the department and more closely align with the city’s economic development strategic plans which aims to improve Terrace’s position as an economic and cultural hub.