The much talked about Battleford West playground project has been approved by Battleford Town Council, with construction planned for this coming summer.
In part, the playground project approval was spurred by the successful submission of a grant application confirmed this past December. The CIF Community Places and Spaces Program grant, worth $25,000, stipulates that in order for the town to receive funding, the project must be completed by December 2018.
Instead of waiting to move ahead with the project in the summer of 2018, Jordan Schechtel, Parks and Recreation superintendent, spoke at town council Monday to get approval for the project to be included in this year's budget.
"I would prefer to get it done this summer, just because there has been inquiries from residents in the area, as well as the developer, since at least 2015."
Schechtel also gave a general timetable for the project and stated irrigation, grass and other final touches would be planned for 2018.
The projected cost of the playground, based on estimates from conceptual designs contracted by the town in the last few years, is $100,000, which is similar in cost to what was spent for the Battle Springs playground, Schechtel reported to council.
Council voted unanimously to approve the recommendation to include Battleford West playground as part of the 2017 capital budget with "the amount not to exceed $100,000." The final cost to the Town, accounting for the CIF grant, would total approximately $75,000.
The next step is to finalize the playground's location. The lot is "kind of an odd shape and we'd like to put a hockey rink in at some point, so there [will have] to be some creative design there," said Schechtel.
