Glenn Hall Park is well on its way to receiving an attractive - and much needed - addition.At their regular meeting May 13, council received two requests for the usage of sea cans within the community service (CS) zones.The first request was from Humboldt Collegiate Institute, who'd like to use the large container for storage on their property. In a letter written by principal Cory Popoff to council, it was pointed out that the sea cans can be modified in a variety of ways, giving HCI's construction students a chance to further develop their skills.The school, working in conjunction with the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) has also requested two additional storage containers to be used at Glenn Hall Park to serve as an announcer booth, concession stand and equipment storage unit. In a report prepared by PAMI, they justified "the new location of HCI, combined with a foreseeable increase in sporting and other community events" as a reason for the containers' placement at the park.HCI and PAMI plan on hiring a company that modifies shipping containers into custom-made configurations.A 40 ft. sea can would be placed in the park with one half its length on top. The schematic figures presented to council by PAMI show a large viewing window for the announcer in the top sea can, with a large serving window for the concession stand being in the bottom container. The first option would use the existing bleachers, while the second option would include the addition of expanded bleacher seating to the full height of the lower 40 ft. container.A third option, seemingly less favourable to council, was a wooden structure but Darrell Lessmeister, director of community & leisure services, said he prefers the shipping containers, noting their advantage of being wind-and water-proof as well as fire resistant."They're not officially engineer-approved like the wooden structure is but I have no doubt we can get that approval," Lessmeister said.Because the sea cans at Glenn Hall Park would be occupied by people, Lessmeister said he along with HCI and PAMI are working to make sure the containers pass all public health and building codes.The request for the sea cans was brought to council because the present zoning bylaws make no mention of the structures, requiring permission from city council. Lessmeister commended PAMI's rough sketches, noting they gave many different options to council and were able to successfully present the benefits these sea cans would have at both HCI and Glenn Hall Park.Councillor Leon Fleischhacker said the blueprints of the containers weren't "unsightly" and acknowledged the idea seemed to be well thought out. A motion was carried to direct administration to work with HCI to proceed with a planning process for the park's containers, which would be located on city property. HCI will raise funds for the process.As for an estimated time of the structure's unveiling, Lessmeister said he and his team are shooting for the stand to be up by late August or early September, while the storage container at HCI will be implemented immediately.
