The District of Kent's plans for a spray park have been put on hold, after Towns for Tomorrow program turned down a grant application.
The spray park has been a topic of conversation in council for several months, however, now that funding is not currently available, the item has not been discussed.
The District polled the community on their preference for a spray park location, naming community parks, Pioneer Park and Centennial Park as some possible sites. Centennial Park, at the Agassiz fairgrounds, was the most popular among council and the community members who answered the poll. Reasons the Centennial location was favoured included proximity to the outdoor pool, the Leisure/Activity Centre and ample parking. A drawback mentioned was the location's lack of prominence for out of town visitors who may not travel on that end of Pioneer Avenue.
The estimated costs of such a project was about $270,000 plus taxes, based on an analysis by van der Zalm + associates. Towns for Tomorrow offers up to 80 per cent of the cost of infrastructure development. For a project of the estimated cost of the spray park, that would equal a grant of about $216,000. The district's portion of the total would have come from development cost charges.
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