The City of Prince Albert has named a fourth park after a prominent local politician with the unveiling of Lee Atkinson Park adjacent to the Midtown Community Club on Saturday.
Atkinson was a long-time Councillor for Ward 3, serving from 2000 to 2016 and remains an advocate for Ward 3. Atkinson was humbled to be recognized with a park named in his honour.
“It’s nice to be recognized. It’s nice in this park,” Atkinson said.
“I’d advocated for a number of things here for a number of years because I think the Midtown area is one of the few that have no City Park specifically. I mean, this is city property, but it’s not exactly a city park and it’s Midtown,” he added.
Atkinson noted that there were other deserving people who also advocated for Midtown.
“It’s nice that this area is getting something that’s similar to other neighbourhoods to help reinvigorate it,” he said.
Atkinson said affordable homes mean a lot of young families are moving into the area, so it’s important to have amenities like this park for them. Without those amenities, he said, there’s no reason for those families to stay in the area.
“It goes into decline,” he said.
The Lee Atkinson Park is one of three parks in the area, along with Riverside School and Ecole Valois. A spray park also opened in the area this summer.
“It’s great there’s something there for the children in the neighbourhood,” Atkinson said.
Emcee and Ward 3 Coun. Tony Head read a brief history of Atkinson’s life in Prince Albert before and after becoming Ward 3 City Councillor.
Atkinson said he was surprised to learn that the park had been named in his honour and thanked Head for advocating for it. He learned about the park’s name at the community mailbox when talking to another local resident.
Head opened the ceremony with an introduction before reading the history. Coun. Darren Solomon, Coun. Charlene Miller, Coun. Dawn Kilmer was also in attendance.
Atkinson had many friends and well-wishers in attendance and with the close proximity of his home invited everyone for fellowship following the ceremony.
Atkinson was born and raised in Ontario before moving to Prince Albert in 1979 when he and his wife, Andrea, left downtown Toronto to make a new life in Northern Saskatchewan.
He initially worked at the satellite tracking station, while his wife found a career in forestry with the provincial government. Together, they had two children and moved to the Midtown neighbourhood in 1985 and over the years, they turned their house into a home and developed a true connection to the community.
Atkinson said that when they first came to Prince Albert the thought was the stay would be temporary.
“Then kids come along, then you have a House, and then you’re committed,” he explained. “Like I said, I think you get involved because you want to make the area better.”
According to the biography read by Head, community improvement was a driving force behind his years in politics as Atkinson was known for demanding transparency, creating opportunities for others, providing and maintaining services for the less privileged, and seeking clarity for those who were impacted by the Council’s decisions.
Since leaving politics, Atkinson remains an active member of the community and still resides in the Midtown area.
“Hopefully there are more initiatives in the general vicinity, whether it be downtown or some others that help continue to improve the neighbourhood and be attracting for people to come and live in this area,” he said.
He said the affordability of housing and being adjacent to Cornerstone, the downtown and Sask Polytech are other advantages of midtown.
“It’s a nice neighbourhood and it can always be better,” he said.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
