The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) received a gift estate of six acres of property on Treherne Road in Area ‘C’ as well as a cash donation of approximately $50,000 on June 28, 2016 by the late Mark Musick Krotter. Today, residents of the nearby community gathered to acknowledge the gift with CVRD directors Bruce Jolliffe, Edwin Grieve, Rod Nichol and staff.
The park will help preserve natural areas in the neighbourhood and act as a greenway connection between Treherne Road and Bishop Road. The greenway connection is officially a public trail and the remainder of the properties are public park space.
Mark worked most of his career as a prosecutor in Calgary and Vancouver and spent weekends and holidays at his second home in the Comox Valley. He valued his privacy and found solace in nature and was also an accomplished fly fisherman and fished many streams in the region.
Mark requested in his will that the new park created from his bequest to the CVRD be called “Jack Shark Park” in memory of his close friend and neighbour, Jack Shark. The Shark family lived across from Mark on Treherne Road for a number of years before moving into Courtenay. Jack and Mark both enjoyed reading and discussing books and spent hours together in conversation.
Jack was a member of the Comox District Mountaineering Club for many years and built a number of popular trails in Strathcona Provincial Park. Shark Lake in Strathcona Park is named after him in recognition of his contributions. Jack Shark died in 1999 at the age of 93.
The Comox Valley Regional District is a federation of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing sustainable services for residents and visitors to the area. The members of the regional district work collaboratively on services for the benefit of the diverse urban and rural areas of the Comox Valley.