WESTLOCK — The Town of Westlock is moving forward with plans for an accessible and inclusive playground but is in need of corporate sponsorship and community donations to help them reach their goal.
The project is the second of three proposed playgrounds, originally announced in December 2021. The first playground, Polymanth, was completed in 2022 in the north-east end of town, followed by the East Glen playground replacement project, which was approved as one of the town’s capital projects in this year’s budget and the Lions Park is scheduled for replacement in 2026.
Town of Westlock’s director of community services Gerry Murphy, said the town worked with an inspection company who provided a condition rating of all the town’s playgrounds and prioritized the order of replacement for each.
“Our first playground was the Polymanth … it was the first one to be done because it was identified as being a priority but it wasn’t really suitable for a truly accessible playground,” said Murphy, noting the playground overview and condition rating process highlighted the fact that the town “didn’t really have an accessible playground.”
“The second one that is of priority is the East Glen playground,” he said. “It is an appropriate place to put an accessible playground.”
Murphy noted during the budget process, councillors chose the location for the new, accessible playground and approved a budget of $300,000 to fund the East Glen playground replacement project. However, with the high costs associated with an accessible playground, including the required specialized equipment, parking spaces and materials such as a fall protection foundation, the town still needs to raise an additional $200,000 to $300,000 to complete it and ensure it is accessible, inclusive and is a destination playground for all.
Administration is actively applying for grants through multiple funding streams and councillors are campaigning for sponsorship support across the Westlock region this year, with the expectation that the design and construction of the accessible playground will be completed in 2025.
“We can include all that (materials and requirements) into our $300,000 budget and it gives the kids one piece of equipment to play on, because once we pay for all of that, we don’t have a lot of money left for playground equipment,” explained Murphy, noting the town’s several grant funding applications so far this year.
“Twenty-twenty-four has become the year of trying to find funding to make this not only accessible, but a playground that kids are going to want to go to.”
Councillors discussed the project at the May 21 committee of the whole meeting, when administration presented information as part of the sponsorship opportunity package for the East Glen playground replacement project.
Murphy said in addition to securing funding and grants in 2024, there is some work related to the playground that will be completed this summer, so that the town can move forward and “bring joy to all children with all abilities” through this new, accessible and inclusive playground.
“We’re also going to be installing the pathway to the footprint of what will be the new playground,” said Murphy. “The kids of Westlock and area deserve the same amenities as far as playgrounds go, as they have in the bigger centres. We want it to be the best playground it can be.”
