Sarnia staff have proposed completing master plans for a pair of major city parks in the coming year.
The 2023 capital budget — approved in principle this week but with more deliberations expected Monday — includes $100,000 requests for respective master plans for Canatara and Norm Perry parks.
These proposals follow a similar Germain Park master plan that’s nearly wrapped up for public review, parks and recreation manager Krissy Glavin said.
Major projects are also in the works for Tecumseh Park while the city’s waterfront master plan proposed planting more vegetation in Centennial Park, amid other changes.
“Just trying to bring everything into one master plan, as opposed to pick and choose what needs to be done,” Glavin said about the rationale behind creating individual park plans.
As far as Norm Perry Park, “there is a lot of asset replacement and capital work that needs to be done,” she said. “It’s a very aging facility.”
Step one, pending council approval, is replacing the “very old” bleachers in the park, she said.
A separate $90,000 ask is in the approved-in-principle city budget to replace three sets of bleachers in that park.
One was struck and damaged by a vehicle in October and has already been taken down, city staff said in a report.
The two remaining sets of bleachers would also be demolished and replaced with something more modern, ideally before the turf field opens for the season in April, Glavin said.
“We have to shrink the platform of the bleachers … get a modern upgrade of what was there,” she said, noting plans are to consult with an industry professional about the best fit for the space.
“We’re just hopeful that this can help us start that (master planning) process to how we can start replacing and updating things in that space, in that park,” she said.
Other parks capital asks for 2023 in the $42.8-million attempt capital budget include:
- $400,000 for ball diamond redevelopment at Tecumseh Park;
- $150,000 for pathway expansion and replacement in Tecumseh Park;
- $300,000 for playground equipment upgrades at two to three unnamed city parks;
- $150,000 — adding up to $300,000 when combined with unspent 2021 capital dollars and a $100,000 grant — for Harry Turnbull Park improvements; and
- $200,000 for detailed design work for a Strangway Center gymnasium expansion project in Germain Park.