Built in July 1990, Carl Schenn, the oldest park in Humboldt will finally be given more than just a facelift. Thanks to a newly formed proactive group in Humboldt, the old park with the creaky wooden playgound will be built anew.
"This playground is unsafe and we believe past its expiration date," said Jill Brown, one of the directors of the nonprofit group, Humboldt Citizens for Better Playgrounds (HCPB). "Let's just get it demolished."
The group hopes to tear down the 23-year-old structure and replace it with a newer, safer, and more widely accessible park with rubber matting and proper lighting.
"Rubber matting would give access to everyone," said Carmen Fraser, another HCBP director. "It would allow grandparents with walkers, mothers with strollers, and anybody else who has mobility issues."
The group submitted their information at the last council meeting with the request that the City commit to 50 per cent of the funding. The group will procure the other half through grants and fundraising.
"This partnership is very valuable to us because it's a vested interest by the community," said Darrell Lessmeister, director of community & leisure services for the City of Humboldt. "The City only has so much resources to get so much stuff done."
According to Lessmeister, the City is aware that Carl Schenn is their oldest park and in need of upgrading. It's been on their five-year plan, but other priorities keep getting pushed ahead of it.
"If we can find partners to make it happen, it's a lot easier and less economically strenuous," said Lessmeister.
HCBP is currently maintaining focus solely on Carl Schenn. After it's completed and depending on its success, they'll shift their focus to the other parks.
"We want to try and get each neighbourhood excited about the green space they have in their area," said Brown. "We want to get people on board who would like to change their green spaces and have them updated."
While ideally the group would like to have the park renovated and completed by 2014, the possibility of that will depend entirely on the accessibility of funds and resources. According to them, however, being a nonprofit group opens the door to more potential grants.
"We've already gotten letters of support from Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Humboldt & District Community Services," said Kelly Soderholm, the third director for HCBP. "Once people see that we're giving it our all and making this park the best it can be, they're going to really welcome that and their eyes are going to open to the other parks."
The group is still very new, so many of their goals are still in planning phases. The biggest challenges the group will face will be raising the funds and coming up with a design that follows all rules and guidelines.
"We have to make sure it meets our long-term planning, that it meets our requirements for maintenance, and that it meets all our CSA standards and standards for playground structures," said Lessmeister. "At the end of the day, it will be on city property, it will be city asset, it will be city owned and maintained."
According to Lessmeister, one of the difficulties they face now with upgrading any of the parks is finding parts that match the old equipment and meets safety standards. He also says that although they do safety checks on a regular basis, they still rely on citizens to call and inform them when the park is unsafe.
