by Sylene Argent
It is not too often youngsters get to chime in with their opinions when it comes to municipal matters. Their opinions were not only welcomed, they were encouraged, at the Townsview subdivision park open house the Town of Essex hosted at the Municipal Building on the evening of Tuesday, May 7.
At the open house, all who attended, including the youngsters, were given a sheet and a pencil. They were then instructed to mull over the five conceptual designs the Town garnered from contractors and rank the concepts from their favourite to their least favourite.
The Town will consider the votes when deciding on with which concept to move forward.
Director of Community Services, Doug Sweet, said $187,000 was approved in the 2019 capital budget for the project. Part of that funding will come from the development charges incurred from the developer and through the tax levy.
The designs were each unique and offered different themes and equipment for the youth to consider while carefully making their decisions. Each of the designs offered accessible features to accommodate youth with special needs.
The open house, Sweet said, was hosted as an important part of the selection process for the playground design.
“It is nice to see the kids here, voting at the open house. They are the ones who will be using the playground,” Sweet said.
Sweet noted it is hoped, once the votes are tallied and a concept is secured from one of the designers that submitted a proposal, the selected structure will be installed so youth can use it sometime this summer.
The playground is needed in the Townsview subdivision area, Sweet noted, based on criteria set-fourth in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Through this document, it notes the Town wants to have a neighbourhood park around every kilometer, so families and individuals can walk to and utilize the parks in their own neighburhood.
Part of the reasoning behind incorporating parks is to create opportunities for active living for all residents, which improves the quality of life, incorporates some green space, and provides an opportunity for residents to meet their neighbours, Sweet said.