INNISFAIL - Design work on the new horseshoe pits is well underway and the town is also getting the project's finances in order with a plan to secure provincial matching funding.
INNISFAIL - Design work on the new horseshoe pits is well underway and the town is also getting the project's finances in order with a plan to secure provincial matching funding.
Town council approved an administration recommendation at its regular meeting on Nov. 28 to apply for a $36,850 Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant, which if approved, will match the town's contribution.
"All we needed was a commitment from council for the matching funds to allow us to apply for the grant," said Meghan Jenkins, the town's development coordinator, who has worked closely with outside engineers and members of the Innisfail Horseshoe Club on the project that has a total estimated cost of $73,700.
Jenkins said the grant application will be submitted in January, with a hope the project can be put out for tender in the spring to secure construction contractors. The work is tentatively scheduled to start after the club's annual tournament at the end May.
"The horseshoe club won't be moving and start using their new site until at least after their tournament," she said.
The club's new site, about 400 metres south of the current one at the intersection of 42nd Street and 51st Avenue, was chosen earlier this year after council determined its old home must give way to the new million-dollar skatepark, which is planned for construction in early summer of 2019.
Horseshoe club members, who vehemently objected to the skatepark site selection, recommended the new site, an empty field with the Rotary Park playground to the east and a baseball field to the west.
Since the summer the town has been working with outside engineers and the horseshoe club on the design of the new location to ensure the needs of all sides are satisfied.
Jenkins said meetings have taken place with horseshoe club members Myrna Kissick and Stuart Little on-site to ensure the new design will work for them and other users nearby, including members of the baseball community.
"It is going to be as far south in that area as possible and then shifted far enough over so that there is access to the baseball field for the lawnmowers, and that grass area is left intact as much as possible so we are not in foul ball territory, and that the ball guys use it for their beer gardens when they have their tournaments," said Jenkins. "We tried to stay as far out from their area as we could. We will have to relocate the walking trail to get there."
Kissick, who is the club's president, said she was pleased with the work the town and engineer did to make the site work, even if it did take two attempts to get the court and trail locations acceptable.
"We are very happy now. It was not acceptable the first one they did. They now have put them where we wanted," she said. "We are happy with where they are now."
As for the horseshoe club's past demand for a clubhouse, Jenkins said "at this point" there are no specific plans for one at the new site. She added if a clubhouse was ever proposed it would be a multi-use facility for all users groups, not just the horseshoe club.
"At this point there are no formal plans for a clubhouse at the Rotary site," said Jenkins. She added there will be a storage shed for horseshoers. She said new washroom facilities may also be constructed.
