BONNYVILLE – Municipal facilities are preparing to welcome back residents as soon as possible after the province announced phase two of Alberta's relaunch.
The Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre and Bonnyville Municipal Library will be opening their doors on June 15, while the Bonnyville Swimming Pool and the splash park will take a bit longer to get up and running.
On June 9, the provincial government announced Alberta will be moving into stage two of relaunch starting June 12. Libraries, indoor recreation facilities, including gyms and arenas, community halls, pools, movie theatres, and casinos and bingo halls were given the go-ahead to open with restrictions during this phase.
The news was welcomed by the Centennial Centre, who spent their closure cleaning the facility and preparing it for their eventual reopening.
“We’re committed to ensuring the health and safety of our patrons and our staff,” C2 marketing manager Sue Wojcik told the Nouvelle. “We will be following strict guidelines, policies, and procedures put forth by the government of Alberta.”
Only 15 guests will be allowed in the gym at any time, pre-booked times will be happening from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and it will be closed for an hour from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. daily to ensure a thorough cleaning is completed. Those coming into the facility will also be required to complete a health screening checklist.
After following the protocols put in place by the province, the C2 was given an exemption to offer summer camps, which began on June 8.
“There’s a need in the community for childcare, and also to have some fun things for the kids to do instead of just staying at home,” noted Centennial Centre fitness and recreation manager Victoria Bird, who added they will continue to follow the provincial protocols to ensure the health and safety of their staff and attendees.
“As things get released and the guidelines get released, we adjust our programming to fit.”
MD of Bonnyville Reeve Greg Sawchuk described the news about the C2 being able to open as “exciting.”
“It’s really good news that the numbers are down in the area and that maybe we can see a little bit of normalcy return,” he continued.
When the Bonnyville Municipal Library unlocks their doors on June 15 it will be for curbside pick-up and drop-off of library resources, along with continued online services.
Leah Woodford, Bonnyville library manager, said she’s looking forward to the change.
“With the curbside service commencing, we’re so excited to be in touch and seeing folks use the library in person again,” she exclaimed. “We have missed the library users and look forward to serving the community with the curbside service.”
According to Town of Bonnyville CAO Bill Rogers, the splash park in town could be open sooner rather than later.
“We’re going to open the splash park; we’re working on it right now. As soon as we can get everything done and have it cleared by the health inspector, we’re going to be opening it.”
But, it could still take some time for the pool to open back up, Rogers continued.
“We have to send out recall notices to staff who were laid off over the spring and then we have to figure out which of the activities that we offer at the pool that we can still maintain and offer the protocols that they still want us to do,” he detailed. “So it won’t be wide open, it will be open with restrictions.”
