Greenwood’s new playground at Lions Park is largely complete, capping the initial phase of construction which broke ground last summer.
General contractor Trevor Zahara said the bulk of construction wrapped up in mid-May, adding that sand was installed in the playground’s play area on Thursday, May 20.
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Zahara credited former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Wendy Higashi for having tapped the grant funding that saw the project through. “It was great to see Wendy’s brainchild come to fruition,” he said, adding that interim CAO Ron Mattiussi and Dep. Clerk Darlene Teron greatly expedited the project after construction resumed this spring.
The project was buoyed by around $100,000 in cash and in-kind donations by community partners last year, including the West Boundary Community Forest, Vaagen Fibre and Son Ranch Timber, which supplied and milled much of the wood that went into the playground.
The project’s second phase is expected to add a wooden tower (with slides) as well as a public washroom and wheelchair-accessible play features, including a merry-go-round. The city is now waiting for a $340,000 grant through the Invest in Canada Infrastructure Program, which Zahara said would pay for the bulk of construction. Zahara said he hoped the overall project would be completed by next summer.
Zahara thanked site manager Dale Barge as well as Greenwood Public Works’ “rock stars” Rob Smith, Erich Schneider and Tony Shangraw. “They were really dedicated to getting this done,” he said. He then thanked Midway’s Tim Andrews, who donated the use of his skid steer.
“I’m falling in love with Greenwood,” he continued, adding that he’d planted a tree at Lions Park in memory of a recently departed family member.
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