INNISFAIL - Town council has confirmed the construction of the new skatepark for 2019 and the relocation of the horseshoe pits with a preferred preliminary overall budget of more than $1 million.
Council's approval at its Aug. 13 regular meeting to move forward with the long-awaited project was important as it was told by the developer, New Line Skateparks, it had to have a definitive timeline by the end of the month or there would be no guarantee it could start construction in 2019 at the chosen site at the intersection of 42nd Street and 51st Avenue.
"The biggest thing is that we see a finish line in sight," said a pleased Russ Klemmer, president of the Innisfail Kinsmen, whose service club, along with the Kinette Club of Innisfail, is the lead fundraising agency. Both clubs have been anxiously waiting for council to move forward with a firm plan for construction. "By council passing this motion there is a commitment to get this done and we just double our efforts going forward with fundraising.
"It gives the businesses an opportunity to know that it will be built. It is not a wish. It is a commitment," said Klemmer, whose service club has so far raised $50,000 for the project, including a $25,000 donation from the Innisfail Lions Club. "Hopefully the businesses will see that and begin to make additional donations to the fundraising."
But the preliminary $-million-plus budget presented to council on Aug. 13 could also leave the town with "some vulnerabilities" financially, cautioned Todd Becker, the town's chief administrative officer, during the meeting.
If council ultimately approves it taxpayers might wind up paying for a substantial portion of the total cost if substantial fundraising and provincial grant monies are not secured. To date, the Kinsmen and Kinettes have not yet applied for provincial grant funding.
Becker said last week the final budget for the skatepark and relocation of the horseshoe pits will not be dealt with by council until a completed detailed design is formally presented to council, which is expected by the end of the year.
In the meantime, Mayor Jim Romane said he strongly favours the most expensive of three preliminary skateboard design options that comes with an estimated price tag of $1,057,280. This includes the estimated $94,000 cost to relocate the horseshoe pits from their current location to another Rotary Park area, between the current men's ball diamond and the playground. The last publicly known estimated price tag for the skatepark project was $680,000 but that was without the cost for the horseshoe pit relocation and a $113,280 contingency fund.
"It is the upscaled one with a larger bowl and with a bit of extra decoration and concrete. It will ultimately be a top end skateboard park," said Romane, adding it will be a benefit for everyone in the town, including local tradespeople and businesses, who will potentially be able to do some of the surrounding groundwork, such as landscaping. He added with the horseshoe pits being moved the town will have more room and flexibility around the new skatepark.
"We got some nice green space for families to hang out with picnic tables and make it a nice public area," said Romane, conceding there was at least some risk moving towards a high-priced project without any certainty of acquiring enough fundraising or grant monies.
"We are on the hook for $700,000-plus so," said Romane. "We run that risk but the CFEP (Community Facility Enhancement Program) grant has been pretty solid. I don't ever recall being refused or turned down. But we are faced with reality that it may not happen. They may cut it back."
As for the Innisfail Horseshoe Club, members have objected to the town's new skatepark site selection for the past two years, arguing a new facility beside their pits would be disruptive for participants. Earlier this year they began lobbying the town to support their desire to relocate. Myrna Kissick, the outspoken president of the club, was not available for comment on council's Aug. 13 decision.
"They (horseshoe club) are convinced it is the right move," insisted Romane. "They didn't want to be squeezed in there. It was too congested. I think council felt the same way. We were setting ourselves up for future problems."
In the meantime, Klemmer said the next step for the Kinsmen is getting ready for next month's annual Weekend of Wheels event, which is "solely" dedicated for skatepark fundraising. As well, the service group will continue to work with the town on CFEP granting and approaching other municipalities, like Red Deer County for support. He noted there are now two different types of CFEP grants, including one for small projects, which has a matching grant of up to $125,000 and the larger program that offers grants of up to $1 million.
"We are going to look at the big one and maximize what we can get," said Klemmer. "We are looking at all options and the $125,000 one was kind of what we were looking at initially but with the addition of the larger grant funding we certainly would not pass on exploring that opportunity as well."
