City council members hope a new addition to a popular park will spark an increase its usage.
Council voted to spend about $194,000 for the construction of a multi-use pad at Roy Nicholson Park, located at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Pine Street North.
A report from Mark Jensen, the city’s director of community and development services, recommended the project.
“A temporary hockey pad has been installed at the Roy Nicholson Park for many years,” he said in the report. “This hockey pad has been one of the more popular and heavily used facilities during the winter months.
“This project will build upon the popularity of the park by providing a permanent foundation for the annual ice pad while also acting as a multi-use recreation court from spring to fall (something encouraged in the City’s Recreation Master Plan).”
Jensen told council the pad could be used for a variety of activities such as pickle ball or basketball in the warmer seasons.
Council had allocated $260,000 in its 2020 capital budget for the project.
“Having a permanent ice pad will save the city the costs of installing and removing in-house fabricated boards, which totals an estimated $2,500 per year in labour costs,” he said in the report. “Phase 2 will see the purchase of modular hockey rink boards (less time consuming to install/remove) with the remaining monies from this project.”
The multi-use court will be accessible for persons with disabilities.
Deputy Mayor Andrew Marks said the addition of the pad “definitely” has the potential to boost the usage of the park.
“The accessibility factor is going to be enhanced for individuals,” he said. “This is a win-win and a plus-plus. This falls in our master park plan, which the city spent resources on years ago and it is certainly headed in the right direction now.
“In the summer, we’re going to be able to have additional sporting activities. Being outdoors and increasing physical fitness is the right thing to do.”
Coun. Joe Campbell asked for approval to be delayed until they were given a schematic drawing of the project.
“Has council been given a schematic of exactly what is being done there?” he said. “This is asking council $200,000. I have difficulty with that” without the schematic.
The contract was awarded to Secord Construction at a cost of $194,194 plus HST.
The city received four bids on the project. Others were Cy Rheault Construction Ltd. at $195,000, Interpaving Limited at $207,722 and Whidden Construction Group at $233,377.37. HST was not included in the bids.
