At 11:30 a.m. this morning TransCanada announced that its Coastal GasLink pipeline project would give $50,000 to the Rotary clubs of Terrace and Skeena Valley for a new splash park.
The contribution was announced at the proposed site of the splash park at George Little Park during a barbecue that lasted until 1 p.m. In attendance were representatives from TransCanada, along with Rotary club members and Terrace mayor Carol Leclerc.
“The Splash Park project fits perfectly with our mandate to find ways to benefit a wide spectrum of people in our community,” said Leclerc in a statement. “This project will bring a quality family facility to downtown Terrace.”
“When you have a free splash park that enables wellness in your community it goes a long way, it takes down the barriers,” Leclerc said. “We have a vibrant park now but I think adding a splash park is going to add to the vibrancy.”
The splash park, which was approved by city council at its Feb. 10, 2015 meeting, will be free of charge and is intended to serve people from Terrace, Kitimat, Thornhill, Kitsumkalum and Kitselas First Nation.
After the splash park was approved, city council offered up some space next to the playground at George Little Park for the project.
During Tuesday’s announcement, the president of the Rotary Club of Terrace, Kelly Gingles, explained that the idea for the splash park came about after a long-term planning session with other northern Rotary clubs. They discussed building a “highly-visible, hands-on project” that would benefit “a large percentage of the population, be easy to access and be free for everybody.”
“When TransCanada gave us word they were donating $50,000 towards the Rotary Splash Park, we were thrilled, and it completely changed our outlook,” said Gingles and Rotary Club of Terrace-Skeena Valley president Lisa Novich in a statement. “Once complete the Splash Park is going to be a destination to many young families and visitors of Terrace and surrounding areas.”
The currently planned splash park will be around 1,500-1,700 square feet and construction should begin next year, according to city officials.
Novich said she was excited for the splash park because it’ll allow the youth from Terrace and elsewhere to experience playing in water in an environment that’s safer and more controlled than playing in the Skeena River, for example.
“To be on a huge river like this and not have water to play in seemed really weird,” Novich said.
Terrace’s two Rotary clubs have already raised $60,000 toward the project.
After a series of smaller donations and the $50,000 from TransCanada, the Rotary clubs are near the halfway mark of the estimated $246,000 required for the project.
