The Estevan Rotary Club Foundation has made a large donation to assist with the construction of a new washroom facility located in Royal Heights Veterans’ Memorial Park.
Rod March, manager of parks and facilities for the city, said the project’s planning has been underway for roughly a year, and construction will begin after the splash park has closed for the season.
“The Rotary Club Foundation has very generously donated $25,000 towards the washroom facilities that will be built for Royal Heights Veterans’ Memorial Park,” said March.
“The tenders are out currently for the construction of this facility, so we’re hoping to have construction underway in the fall, as well as construction of the wheelchair accessible play structure. The park will be complete with a total overhaul including the new spray park, new washroom facilities, new pathways, new trees, it will be amazing for the community.”
The final cost for the project is not yet known, but according to March it will exceed the initial donation of $25,000.
“We’ve been going back and forth, designing and redesigning the structure for about a year now,” said March.
“Our own in-house people will do all the electrical work, as well as all the water and sewer hook-ups. It was decided by the Rotary Club Foundation that they would like a sunshade, and a two-washroom structure, which will be larger than the initial structure we had in mind. They’ve made a commitment with the $25,000 toward the project this year, and then once the final numbers come in they are going to look at it for the remaining funding.It will cost more than $25,000 to build this structure, we already know that, so this is an up front commitment to get it going, and the city, of course, will front the bill to make sure it gets built and then the Rotary will look at it next year, to put some more money towards it maybe over a three or four year term.”
The Rotary Club of Estevan approached the city last year regarding possible projects they would be able to donate funds to in the community, according to March.
“So a couple of ideas were floating around, and once I proposed this washroom facility they thought it would be a fantastic project for them to put their name on, so I guess it's a bit of a joint effort. We all just want to keep contributing to the community and making it a better place for everyone,” said March.
“We’re very fortunate to have foundations like the Rotary Club to step up and donate money like this. It makes it possible to improve our parks and facilities within the city, so just a big shout out and a thank you to the people at the Rotary Club. They are one of many community sponsors and we’re very fortunate to have this opportunity to work with them and get this facility built.”
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