The District of Kent could be upgrading the playground at Schep Park in 2020.
During council Monday night (Dec. 9), director of community services and projects Jennifer Thornton spoke to council about two possible grants that could help turn Schep Park’s playground from wood chips to a rubber surface.
The first grant, through the Tire Stewardship BC community grant program, would cover $30,000 of the $91,000 project. This grant is the same one that helped the District create the rubber surface currently in place at the Pioneer Park playground, which was opened in the summer.
RELATED: Pioneer Park playground opens for fun and play
It’s not clear how much the second grant, through the Kal Tire RePlay grant program, would cover, but Thornton said the two grants combined would be enough to cover the entire resurfacing project.
“We have a friendship swing there, but if you have a child in a wheelchair, it’s very difficult to get to the equipment,” mayor Sylvia Pranger said about the playground during council. “If we can get it done, it will be a great asset for several children in that area.”
She also added that Schep Park is in a particularly windy area of Agassiz.
“Last February, there were a lot of chips on the road instead of in the park,” she said.
Kent will be applying for both grants in 2020. If only one grant is approved, it will be brought back to council to see if the district is willing to fund the rest of the cost.
In addition to the Schep Park grants, the district will also be applying for three others: one to add additional trees to Valley View Cemetery through the BC Hydro Tree Canada grant and another to reduce barriers to participating in Agassiz Minor Soccer for families with financial need through the Canadian Tire Jumpstart community development program.
The final grant application will be for a professional consultant to help design Agassiz’s proposed indoor pool, through the Canadian Tire Jumpstart accessibility program. The indoor aquatic facility was proposed in January of this year, although the results of that grant application are still unknown.
RELATED: Kent looking to replace Ferny Coombe pool with indoor facility
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