By Adam Ophus

going ahead, finally

Rocky spray park to be built in 2020

Dec 19, 2019 | 11:28 AM

Rocky Mountain House’s journey towards finally having a spray park cleared another hurdle Tuesday after town council approved a revised scope for the project.

The spray park, mechanical room and washrooms will now be built as a stand-alone project in 2020 next to the football fields near West Central High School at a cost of $1.4 million.

The initial scope of the project was approved by council on July 2 of this year. Urban Systems provided consulting/engineering services for the project in September 10 and work on underground utilities was completed in October.

Council was tasked with deciding on Tuesday whether to add a washroom, change room, rubberized flooring and heated water to the project. All but the change room was approved.

Before Tuesday’s meeting started, the Rocky Jr. Rebels football team gathered outside the town office to voice their desire to have a change room included with the spray park. The team currently uses change rooms and washrooms at the Christenson Sports and Wellness Centre. Adding a change room to the spray park project would add nearly half a million dollars to its cost.

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Most of council’s debate on Tuesday revolved around whether to heat the spray park’s water. Councillors were mostly unanimous in their belief that the cost of adding a change room at this time was too much, and that it would be considered at a later date.

Chief Administrative Officer Dean Krause informed council that by doing it separately, the town could apply for new grants on a future change room project.

Sponsorship funding for the project has been secured from Evergreen Co-op, Rocky Credit Union and the Spray Park Society. Other funding opportunities were contingent on certain aspects of the project being met. A $30,000 Alberta Recycling Grant hinges on whether a recycled rubber flooring is put in, while $100,000 from Edwards Garage was pending on whether the water at the facility was heated.

“If you’re going to make something, make it right and make it enjoyable,” Wes Amendt, Director of Recreation & Community Services told council was the message he received from Edwards Garage.

“I’m glad it’s attached to it, as a frequent spray park user with my kids, the point of having a spray park is so people use it, it would be silly to have one that no one uses,” Councillor Jason Alderson commented.

Mayor Tammy Burke was unconvinced, stating, “The project keeps growing, I’m just worried how much this will cost us in the end.”

$190,000 in money saved from the Aquatic Centre Combined Heat & Power project that came in well under budget will be put towards the building of the spray park.