The City of Terrace is seeking a grant to cover a significant chunk of a nearly $400,000 project to build a washroom and changing facility near the splash area at George Little Park.
The facility would be fully accessible, complete with toilets, showers and changing areas built to a modern standard. According to Tara Irwin, City of Terrace director of leisure services, the building is planned to be around 550 to 600 square feet, but the final size is not finalized.
On July 26, city council voted to support an application to the Canada Community Revitalization Fund for just under $300,000, or 75 per cent of the project’s cost. Council approved the remaining quarter — nearly $100,000 — to be allocated from the city’s Northern Capital and Planning Grant Reserve Funds, money that was provided by the province in 2019 and again in 2020.
The Rotary Splash Park opened in 2017, and was permitted on the condition that there would be a washroom and change facility.
There is an existing washroom at George Little Park located around 100 metres from the splash park. Also, because splash parks are categorized as pools under B.C.’s Public Health Act, regulations require the facility to be within 60 metres of the splash park, meaning that upgrading the existing building is not an option.
“It would be nice to have a new facility beside the splash park, I had my granddaughters there a couple weeks ago,” Mayor Carol Leclerc said after the vote.
“It was a Sunday morning and there wasn’t very much traffic around but it’s still a long distance for them to go,” she said of the walk to the existing washroom.
City staff are looking to pursue other grant opportunities to minimize the overall cost to the city.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that the proposed washroom was planned to be around 550 to 600 metres squared. The correct size is 550 to 600 square feet.
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