Sylvan Lake Town Council has approved the tender and concept design for the new Centennial Park playground.
In 2020 Council chose to withdraw the tender for the playground, not approving of any of the concepts presented.
After asking for each applicant to submit a new “nautical themed” design, Council was still unhappy with those presented, and choose instead to leave the project until 2021.
Council said they were not “wowed” by the tenders originally presented last April, as they wanted the playground to be a “crowning jewel” of the Town’s water front area. As a destination town, Council said they wanted this playground to also be a destination for visitors and locals alike.
The new tender was presented to Council with a larger budget, on Feb. 8. The re-tendered project has a budget of $350,000, an increase of $100,000 from last year’s attempt at the park.
The funding increase came from the 2020 paid parking revenue and other capital projects.
Canadian Recreation Solutions was the top proponent for its nautically-themed playground design.
The new playground will exceed the proposed budget of $350,000 by about $20,000, though Town Administration says the 2021 budget is “sufficiently funded for the construction of a new playground for $370,000.”
In 2020, the Town asked residents in a survey what they wanted to see in a playground. The results showed, slides, climbing apparatuses and swings were favoured by residents.
The approved design shows multiple slides of varying styles and heights, numerous climbing apparatuses, swings and multiple play areas for younger kids.
The design also shows an area with excavators and “buried diggables” for children to play with.
The Town expects to remove the current playground in Centennial Park in April, with the new playground set to open before the end of June.
Ideally, the instillation of the new playground will be completed by the May long weekend, though the “exact timing of the project will depend on weather conditions, the COVID-19 situation and ability of crews to perform the work.”