The Prince George Community Foundation (PGCF) and the Rotary Club of PG gave a presentation at tonight’s (Monday) City Council meeting for their vision of a mega park in the city.
The estimated budget for the park was raised to $2.8 million, but PGCF Director of Development Mindy Stroet said the estimate is still rough, but a large portion of it is already funded.
“But what I can tell you is we have the all accessible playground at $1.1 million, which is completely donated by Canadian Tire and Jumpstart, that is completed. We also have raised together approximately 45% of the project costs are already committed to date.”
Stroet added that besides the 50/50 PG Cougars Mega Jackpot, there hasn’t been any active fundraising within the community yet.
She wanted the City to show support for the project by allowing administration to help look for a spot for this park, as well as help with public consultation.
Councillors Kyle Sampson and Cori Ramsay showed their support for this project, tossing ideas and concepts to try to give the PGCF some more direction.
Councillor Brian Skakun asked what a land donation would look like, and if water/sewer/storm costs could be waived for the project.
There wasn’t a definitive answer yet, as detailed design plans are on hold until a destination was determined.
It was also determined that the PGCF wasn’t eligible for the Northern Development Initiative Trust funding, but they were looking elsewhere.
“We know there are opportunities with the provincial government and the federal government, so again, with council’s support tonight, we would work with administration to submit those funding requests,” said Stroet.
Councillor Terri McConnachie asked if other Rotary Clubs were involved, and it was noted that they are being approached to see if they’re interested in pitching in.
Councillor Susan Scott was a little bit more hesitant to add more resources on to the pile, noting that they’ve received feedback from PG residents.
“We are coming out of a pandemic, and we are cobbling back up to our feet quite nicely. But we’ve all taken pretty direct input from our citizens about increasing costs to projects that we’ve already got. And I’m really concerned about the long term implications of this to our city budget.”
“So going forward I will be looking for way more information financially about the annual maintenance and replacement costs to all of these elements,” added Scott.
Councillor Garth Frizzell wanted to note that this seemed like a grassroots program, and it wasn’t something being pushed by a big corporation.
After everyone’s input, it was moved that City staff would continue to help the PGCF on this project, and to help build public consultation.
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