BIBLE HILL – Upgrades to the Bible Hill Recreation Park are
slowly inching toward reality.
The Village of Bible Hill is seeking funding for upgrades, including to the playground, a gazebo, washrooms and a splash pad, to the park that’s located off of College Road. The value of the upgrades is $300,000.
The village’s recreation department has investigated making use of the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), which said the park project fits the funding guidelines.
The village had requested $150,000 from ACOA, but the agency originally said it would only consider giving the project between $100,000 to $115,000.
The commission, in turn, felt with that amount of funding, it should remove the playground from the project, which resulted in ACOA increasing its funding figures to $125,000 so the playground wouldn’t be eliminated.
Funding approval is still required by the federal government. If it’s received, the project can move forward with the village requesting 50 per cent of the funds immediately that would be used in this fiscal year.
The village has $70,000 in its parks and recreation reserve and the recreation department will also seek funding opportunities from the County of Colchester and Nova Scotia Health and Wellness.
Next is developing a request for proposal for the project and then creating a park site plan in the winter.
Village clerk Bob Christianson said some special considerations will be applied to the project.
“The park is on a former landfill site so we have to be careful with soil (considerations),” said Christianson.
“And we will do public consultation” in regards to site development, Christianson said.
