SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin
The estimated $100,000 cost to install a small water park in a residential area has doubled.
“We’re estimating that additional funds of another $100,000 are required in 2025 to complete the project.
“The city’s funds could be drawn from the city’s 2025 Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF),” Bryce Mackan, the city’s manager of engineering, told city council committee last Tuesday.
“In 2024 when it came up in budget discussion, my understanding is that it would only proceed if there was $100,000 in grant funding available for it,” said councillor Ray Juska.
He said that funding he expected would be grants from other sources.
“I’m fine with the funding on that,” said mayor John Petrie.
“It’s a good project for the area. Those things do enhance our community.”
The 35-square metre water park would be installed West of Third Street West in Uplands.
Mackan said a large tank would be installed under the park to capture the water so it could be reused for the trees in the area but environmental rules need to be determined as to how it could be completed.
The park would be designed for children under the age of about 14 and would include six water features.
Waterplay has provided a plan. As part of the Canoe procurement site it allows the city to directly award and start the project.
“It saves a lot of time on our processes,” he said.
Businesses registered on Canoe have done the competitive bidding processes which saves time for municipalities to write, release and award tenders.
This year’s CCBF allocation to the city is estimated at $956,433 subject to authorization by the province.
Roughly $6 million of the fund was used to build a local internet service in Brooks.
The recreation committee is considering building additional small water parks throughout the community every second year.
