Sundridge should hear soon whether the federal government has approved a grant for $100,000 to help the municipality build the long-planned Edgar Street Park.
The municipality applied for funding through the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream for Ontario under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
If the feds come through with the $100,000, the municipality will put up $35,000 as its share of the project, and work on the entire park can be carried out this year.
However, if the application is rejected, Sundridge will still move forward with the park, but it will be built in phases.
The first phase would involve re-zoning the 1.4 acres of land, followed by land preparation and building the first component to the park, a basketball court.
Other features include a gazebo, playground, a small parking lot with space for four vehicles and a walking trail that would weave through the trees.
Council held a second public input session on the proposed park on April 14, with one of the contributors being former town councillor Russell Becker.
In addition to the basketball court, he suggested creating more ground space where pavement could be laid down so kids could learn to ride a bike or use it for street hockey.
“Parents in the neighbourhood trying to teach their kids to ride a bike end up going to parking lots,” Becker told council.
He added the current park is not conducive to kids learning how to ride their bikes because it's more geared toward splash pad activities. There is a playground at the site.
Becker told council he hopes the basketball court also will be equipped with two hoops, so a wider age group could be accommodated at the same time.
He said if the court only has one net then “you end up with a situation where the older kids ... take over the whole area.”
“With more ground space there's more opportunity for younger kids to shoot at one hoop, while the more intense play with the older kids is at the other hoop,” he said.
Deputy mayor Shawn Jackson told Becker if the $100,000 in federal funding comes through, the plan is to build a full-sized basketball court.
Jackson also said a portion of the funding would be used to outfit the court with lighting for nighttime play until 10 p.m.
He also praised Becker for his input, saying it was his work and time on a previous council that has helped make the park a reality.
Jackson said when work begins on the park, only a small number of trees will be removed, with the goal of creating space for necessary equipment. A walking trail would weave through the remaining trees.
The trail would be lined with wood chips from dead or dying trees that would need to be cut down to help make it level, Jackson said.
Council has not yet addressed the question of whether pets will be allowed in the park.
But Jackson said, “I can't see why we wouldn't at least allow the animals in the walking trail section.”
Jackson said this is a matter council will need to discuss with the bylaw enforcement officer.
Megan Jeffers, who also appeared at the public input session, said a lot of children are excited about the proposed park.
While she had no opinion about the pet rule, she said she appreciated having the no dog rule when her children were younger, because the local playground space was meant for kids.
“But it also makes sense to have a walking trail where people can walk their pets and clean up after them,” she said.
Jackson said what council has in mind for playground equipment is a type of modern-day merry-go-round, with different climbing patterns and two platforms.
He said the structure is very safe. Additionally, the park would include a swing set.
The park also could be used in the wintertime, Jackson said, if concrete is used to build a pad for the basketball court. It could then be surrounded by boards and turned into an outdoor ice rink.
He said an asphalt surface would also work, but over time the weather might play havoc with the surface.
Jackson said it would be easy to create sliding hills, because it won't require many loads of earth to create slopes kids can toboggan down.
Mayor Lyle Hall said, regarding the municipality's share of $35,000, council has been setting aside money in reserves for a while, meaning there won't be any impact on taxpayers because “we've done the investment.”
Regardless of which way the funding announcement goes, council hopes construction can begin this summer.
- Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the North Bay Nugget. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
