The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Rotary Park is undergoing a $30,000 facelift this summer complete with picnic tables, an overhead water sprinkler for the wading pool, and a shade structure. It's a sizable project for the Rotary Club, which opened the park nearly 70 years, and one whose time had come, in the view of President George Fontaine. "Our park is starting to suffer with age so we're hoping to make it a better place for the kids," he said. "I think there's going to be a whole lot of improvement over it was." See 'Resurfaced' P.# Con't from P.# The Rotarians planted the seeds of the park overhaul last year, installing the support posts necessary for the shade structure as well as a new sign welcoming visitors. Over the weekend, a group of Rotarians constructed a wooden roof atop the shade structure, giving visitors a much-needed place to escape the scorching sun. The plan is to install a cement pad beneath the structure, with lighting being discussed as a possibility. By the end of the summer, the club hopes to have resurfaced the wading pool and erected an overhead sprinkler similar to the one at Willowvale Park. There are also plans to install a small fence along the Bellevue Avenue side of the park to prevent children from running out onto the road. Visitors can also expect as many as eight picnic tables, providing plenty of space for families to enjoy lunch out in the sun. Fontaine said two-thirds of the project's $30,000 price tag Ñ $20,000 Ñ came from a grant from the Northern Neighbours Foundation, with the club supplying the balance of the cash. "We're getting a lot of donated materials and donated work," noted the club president. "We've been given some good deals by many businesses around town." The Rotarians hope to upgrade the playground structures at the park in the future, though that's not in the budget this year. Fontaine expressed the club's gratitude to the local businesses who have contributed to the project, adding that they will be thanked by name at a later date in The Reminder.
