Parents in Powassan and surrounding communities had cause for celebration Friday when the playground at Lions Park reopened with new equipment.
The old equipment had been vandalized last year, forcing municipal staff to remove it and start work on replacing the damaged pieces.
Thanks to a $94,100 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the site now has several slides, a monkey bar and pseudo rock-climbing structures. That grant nearly covered the entire cost of the project, with the municipality having to cover an overage bill of $5,700.
Patti Carr is an OTF volunteer with the Grant Review Team and she, along with Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli announced the Trillium funding.
In announcing the grant, Vic Fedeli, Nippissing MPP and Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, said Powassan is an exciting community. He noted he normally starts his weekend in Powassan and after a busy week at the Ontario legislature in Toronto, “It’s like we’re coming home when we’re here.”
Patti Carr, a volunteer with the Ontario Trillium Foundation, said Powassan’s application for Trillium funding was well received by the review team saying the municipality made a strong case for the playground equipment project and in the process is “making memories for children.”
Friday was a professional development day at Near North District School Board, meaning students were not in the classroom and a couple of dozen parents were at the playground with their children, enjoying the new equipment.
One family that enjoyed the reopening was Hannah Francom and her young son and daughter.
“They’ve been waiting all week,” she said.
“Each day after school, they would make me drive by the park to see if it had reopened yet. They’ve been waiting quite a while for this. When I told them it was reopening, they were so excited.”
The municipality had posted images on social media to update residents about the work at the playground — Francom said the kids were “pumped” when she showed them the pictures and “it’s all they talked about all week.”
The playground installation is the first of two replacement projects.
Mayor Peter McIsaac said staff are also working on replacing all the playground equipment in Trout Creek and that this project is even bigger than the Powassan site.
He added the local Lions Club will be helping the municipality with the Trout Creek project and it should be ready to welcome boys and girls next spring.
McIsaac said years ago, Powassan town council made “the conscious decision to try and make the Municipality of Powassan a very active and inclusive community.”
“We want a healthy and active community,” said McIsaac.
He said the municipality keeps children on the go with its Get Active Powassan program every summer with soccer and baseball programs in addition to several programs run out of the municipal building at 250 Clark.
McIsaac added this doesn’t include the usage the municipal pool gets plus all the hockey programs.
McIsaac called Friday’s announcement a “day of celebration” as the playground reopened to families.
He’s hopeful the new equipment is not damaged and the park is equipped with surveillance cameras to catch anyone committing acts of vandalism.
The municipality has a policy to deter people from damaging municipally-owned infrastructure like the playground facility. Anyone caught vandalizing equipment faces a penalty of being barred from using all municipal facilities including the arena.
The penalty also includes not being able to use any facility in Trout Creek.
“If you’re a hockey player, imagine a whole year without hockey,” McIsaac said.
“The no trespass order is the last thing we want to do. This is everyone’s park. We want people to come here, enjoy it and leave it in the same state you found it so the next person can enjoy it.”
Another parent, Jonathan Hartwick is a relatively new resident of Powassan having moved to the community six years ago.
“It’s been some time coming,” Hartwick said, who was at the park with his three-year-old son Barrett.
“Outdoor activity is important for the health of kids and their development. Anything that promotes outdoor health and activity for this community is great.”
Hartwick said because of his son’s young age he will usually play on the junior playground equipment.
And he was certainly aware that new equipment was being installed at the site.
“He was excited when he saw the fence come down Friday morning,” Hartwick said.
“He asked if we could go to the playground after daycare and I said 'for sure.'”
Asked what his reaction was to the new equipment, young Barrett said “it was a lot of fun.”
Kristy Hughes, who lives in nearby Nipissing Township, visits Lions Park with her three children on a semiregular basis because Nipissing has its own playground.
“They were excited to get something new to replace the old equipment that got damaged,” she said.
Her five-year-old son, Declan Byers, says he “liked the new equipment because it was a lot of fun.”
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
