A new splash pad park for Markdale is one step closer to becoming reality.
At its meeting on May 1, Grey Highlands council unanimously approved a resolution directing municipal staff to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Markdale Splash Pad sub-committee to advance the project.
Committee chair Shannon Iadinardi made a presentation to council at the meeting and outlined the committee’s work over the past 20 months and provided an update about the vision for a Community Gathering Garden that would include a splash pad, chess tables, bowling and badminton facilities, benches and memorial trees.
“We hope our revised plan is one everybody can be excited about,” said Iadinardi. “Together we can bring this vision to life and inspire the community to come together and have fun.”
Iadinardi explained that for the project to move into the fundraising stage, the committee needs to secure an MOU with the municipality for use of King Edward Park. The MOU is a formal agreement between Grey Highlands and the committee for the project that would cover all the details and secure a definitive location for the park.
Iadinardi said the committee has received many letters of support for the project from neighbouring property owners and local groups and has the commitment from a number of local businesses for in-kind support for the project. She also noted there are numerous fundraising opportunities for this type of project.
“It is important to note that no opposition has been raised by stakeholders in our community. All user groups feel this is the ideal plan,” she said. “The community has shown great enthusiasm for our project.”
The committee estimates that a total budget for the project would be $347,000. Iadinardi said they are confident with the pledges they have received from businesses that they can deliver the project for less than $250,000. She asked that council consider making a $100,000 commitment over multiple years to the project.
However, the committee can’t move into that phase of the project without the MOU.
She said they are at a bit of a “roadblock” without the MOU agreement.
Members of council were supportive of the request.
“You’ve obviously made a lot of progress. This is really great news,” said coun. Nadia Dubyk. “We’re here to work with you, we just need to work through the details.”
Coun. Joel Loughead said the committee’s progress was a signal that the municipality needed to get its plans for King Edward Park in gear.
“This reminds us we need to get serious about what to do with King Edward Park,” he said.
