Mission set aside $1.5 million for a new destination spray park in May 2023 and the city has chosen Emiry Street as its potential location.
At Monday’s (Nov. 6) council meeting, council unanimously voted for staff to report back on a destination waterpark at Emiry Street.
The report would include options for a play structure, timeline, parking, washrooms, picnic area, budget and a possible phasing in process.
Common Park, Griner Park, Emiry Park and city property on Cedar Street and Cherry Street were floated as possible locations for a new spray park in a staff feasibility study. The funding for the water park came as part of the $8.8 million Growing Communities Fund provided to the city by the province.
Despite the unanimous vote, council had some disagreement on the location and potential costs in the future.
Coun. Angel Elias motioned for staff to come back with a design for an entire park, not just a water park.
“It doesn’t just have the water park in it. It has absolutely everything — the bathrooms, the parking lot, the fields, the picnic tables — let’s build a complete park here even if we have to do it as a phased-in approach. Let’s give our community something instead of always just asking for it,” Elias said.
Meanwhile, Coun. Danny Plecas wasn’t convinced the city should jump in at that location.
“We’re two years out from even seeing a house in the area or a townhouse, whatever. There isn’t a shovel in the ground even though we’ve approved projects in that area. I know there’s a school forthcoming. There isn’t a super amount of residential development in the area. I am concerned that we move forward on something because we’ve indicated that we want a spray park and we put money aside for it,” Plecas said.
“If you want a spray park in short order, I think you’re rushing it,” he went on to say. “I really do think you’re rushing it. I’m not convinced. I know we made a commitment, but I really don’t think we’re ready to do it until such time we’ve gone through the master plan exercise and really defined what we want in our parks.”
Mayor Paul Horn and Coun. Jag Gill voiced support for the location because of the advantages of having the spray park before residents move to the area but had some concerns as well.
“I think what should be evident to all of us here is that there’s an eagerness to get going to actually make sure that projects are built while we are still sitting here and have the ability to oversee them and realize what we believe the community wants and our vision in interpreting that,” Horn said.
“At the same time, I’m concerned that we are making some classic mistakes by going in 75 different directions at one time.”
Horn says it will be important for council to hear back on what Elias’s motion would look like concerning a balance of quality, speed and cost.
“I don’t think it’s ready to go to market based on what we’ve heard,” he said.
