The city will reapply for an infrastructure grant to make improvements to Riverside Park, including an outdoor skating rink (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

RIVERSIDE PARK IMPROVEMENTS

City taking another run at outdoor rink, seeking grant for Riverside Park improvements

Aug 12, 2020 | 5:42 PM

KAMLOOPS — Unsuccessful in its first bid for a grant to help fund improvements at Riverside Park, Kamloops city council passed a motion to re-apply Tuesday (Aug. 11).

The application would provide the bulk of funding for upgrades to the spray park and washrooms, as well as an outdoor skating rink.

The City’s goal is to have a portion of Riverside Park accessible to the public year-round. Not only would there be improvements to existing facilities, an updated spray park would be used in the summer and an outdoor skating rink in the winter.

“For this application, the focus is going to be on what’s behind me. The washroom building is going to be completely redone and more accessible,” said parks and civic facilities manager Jeff Putnam. “The water park that you see right now is almost 30 years old. So we’re going to repurpose that and make it a year round community facility.”

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The project would cost nearly $5.8 million. $4.2 million would come from the federal-provincial infrastructure grant, while the city would be responsible for the remaining $1.5 million.

“The beauty of this project, this proposal is it’s going to cost us $1.5 million anyway to renovate this project anyway just as a water park and to improve the washroom building. So if we don’t get the grant, we still need to spend that money on the water park. If we get the grant we can make it a year-round community facility, and that’s why we love it so much.”

If the grant application is approved, work could begin in the fall of 2021 and completed by spring of 2022.