With the spring months approaching, town council made the decision to move forward with construction of the proposed splash park at Little Leap Park, committing to financing the project should the organizing committee fail to raise the necessary funds by April 1.
To date, Prevost, chair of the splash park committee, said the group had managed to raise $460,000, but that a further $240,000 was required to complete the project.
The idea behind the location was to construct the splash park alongside Little Leap Park and install a gazebo between the two sites so that parents could keep an eye on their children no matter which area they were playing in.
Coun. Jim Cheverie said it has been a specific focus of his to look into doing as much as he possibly can for the younger generation in town and he feels the installation of a splash park would be a “great thing” for Bonnyville, and an “even better thing” for all the youth that will make use of the facility.
Coun. Nestor Kunec said he felt this splash park was more of a “want” rather than a “need”, and although he was fully behind the project, he didn't want to see the town providing additional funding.
“When I was campaigning for a spot on town council, I did so on the premise of keeping taxes low,” Kunec said. “I'm fully supportive of the splash park and with the committee's luck with fundraising, but I don't think we should be allocating taxpayers money to make this project go forward.”
Prevost said that he expected the splash park committee to be able to raise the $240,000 needed to complete the project on their own, but added that it was nice to have the support of the town should the committee need it.
Coun. Lorna Storoschuk, also a member of the splash park committee, made the motion for council to provide financial assistance towards the project should it be needed on the premise that the committee pays that money back once it receives more donations.
Council voted unanimously to support the motion. Construction of the splash park is set to begin in the first couple of weeks of April with the idea of opening the area on Canada Day.
