A group of six Vancouver community centre associations vowed at a public meeting Monday not to negotiate any operating agreement with the park board that pools all revenues from the city’s 20 volunteer-run centres.

“When we’re still seeing pooling of the revenue and still seeing the park board dictating the terms of the negotiations, we question whether or not the process will be true and transparent,” said Ainslie Kwan, president of the Killarney community centre association and spokeswoman for the group of six associations opposed to the plan. “Even as of the sixth of February, (park board GM) Malcolm Bromley has told staff that the framework has been agreed to and that they should continue negotiations when we feel negotiations haven’t even started yet.”

Monday afternoon’s meeting at Hillcrest community centre follows the nine-hour park board session on Feb. 5, where commissioners approved a financing proposal designed to make community centres across the city more equitable and accessible. Thirteen of Vancouver’s community centre associations have agreed to negotiate and implement the new plan by July 1. One association is undecided on the plan to redistribute $1.3 million collected by the centre associations.

Kwan referred to a park board memo — dated a day after the Feb. 5 meeting — in which Bromley states that “any changes that occur as a result of this transition will be implemented carefully and thoughtfully, and will involve open dialogue.”

The memo also assures staff and centre employees in bold type that all programs and services will be maintained and directs them to a web page dedicated to updates on negotiations.

Kwan said her group will not negotiate on revenue-sharing, but said it would be “willing to take more of the cost on so that frees up money for the park board to send it to associations that they feel are underfunded.”

Many people of the more than 150 people at Monday’s meeting voiced their displeasure with the Vision Vancouver-controlled park board and city council. Two NPA park board commissioners attended and the first person to take the microphone in the general question period asked “where are the Vision park commissioners?”

Board chair Sarah Blyth said on her Twitter account that Vision commissioners were invited to Monday’s meeting via email at 8:30 p.m. the night before, which was too late for her to find childcare. She said that organizers formally invited Green party Coun. Adriane Carr to the same meeting “way in advance.”

Carr said she was at the meeting to support the citizens who are “willing to fight to maintain the kind of decision-making control that they’ve had for decades.”

She told the cheering crowd that she would not be “intimidated and silenced” by city manager Penny Ballem, who quashed Carr’s motion asking for a financial impact study on the divisive plan. Ballem said such a study could jeopardize forthcoming negotiations.

Carr slammed Ballem’s move and said the “steamrolled” proposal is similar to “what’s been happening in the year and several months that I’ve been on council.”

She is holding a news conference and rally Tuesday at 8:45 a.m. on city hall steps with lawyer and former NPA councillor Jonathan Baker, who will give a legal opinion on the quashing of Carr’s motion.

Vancouver’s community centres are funded by the City of Vancouver and supported by non-profit volunteer associations that fundraise. Community centres contribute their fundraising revenues to foot the bills for equipment and programming, and to support programs for seniors and children.

Much of the fundraising for important community programs, like hot lunches, daycares and senior’s programming is achieved through applying for grants that require the receiving organizations to raise matching funds and show where the money goes.

Representatives from several Vancouver community centre associations say there is a real risk of losing volunteers if a controversial park board financing proposal goes ahead, with an unavoidable and substantial impact on the city’s bottom line.

From mah-jong clubs to child care, visioning and capital improvement projects, community members contribute thousands of hours annually on programs and services offered at Vancouver’s community centres.

Any reduction in those hours will either need to be filled by park board staff or cause the centres to go without, the associations say.

Hazel Hollingdale, president of the board of Renfrew Park community centre association, said her board spends roughly 8,200 hours annually on everything from strategic planning to envelope stuffing to setting up for special events.

Taken at a union rate of $34.80 per hour for a programmer II position with the park board, that adds up to about $300,000 worth of free labour each year, Hollingdale said. Other volunteers contribute another 6,000 hours a year to the centre, an estimated value of more than $78,500.

Renfrew Park is one of 13 centres that have agreed to negotiate with the park board over the new financing proposal, which would see centres forced to hand surpluses back to the park board for more equitable distribution.

But many fear the change will alienate volunteers and leave the city on the hook for thousands of hours in lost contributions.

Park board general manager Malcolm Bromley declined The Sun’s request for an interview. The park board also failed to provide community centre staffing levels and staff costs by The Sun’s deadline.

mhager@postmedia.com

jbarrett@vancouversun.com

With files from Denise Ryan

Park board memo by