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Port Clements Community Park gets more than $100K for upgrades

Federal government grant created to improve public spaces
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The Village of Port Clements received $101,205 from the federal government to spruce up the Port Clements Community Park, announced Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan on Aug. 23. (Photo: Kaitlyn Bailey/Haida Gwaii Observer)

The Port Clements Community Park is getting a facelift after the village received $101,205 from the federal government.

Port Clements park is one of eight community infrastructure projects in B.C.’s northwest that benefited from a total investment of $2.6 million through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF).

Racket sports enthusiasts will be happy to hear that part of the funds will be used to upgrade the tennis courts. The courts will be re-surfaced with a new net added and putting up a fence again, Elizabeth Cumming, deputy chief administrative officer, stated in an email to the Haida Gwaii Observer.

The village also plans to add some colour to the park by painting murals on the washrooms and improving safety with video camera installation. There have been issues of vandalism around the washrooms in the past, Cumming stated.

The last of the money will be used to build a shelter in the playground area. It will cover the sandbox and keep the rain out.

“Council is pleased that the village’s grant application was successful and looks forward to undertaking the project,” Cumming wrote. “The village has been making every effort we can to improve our outdoor recreation amenities for our residents.”

Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan announced the northwest recipients of the CCRF grants in Prince Rupert on Aug. 23.

“The Government of Canada is supporting economic development in communities across Northern British Columbia,” Sajjan stated.

”We are helping small and medium-sized businesses on the road to recovery. Now it’s time to invest in the shared public spaces and tourism experiences that will bring people together and grow our communities.”

In total, the federal government is distributing more than $500 million through the CCRF over two years to help make public spaces safer, greener and more accessible. For non-Indigenous community projects, up to 75 per cent of the total project costs can be covered by the grant.

Projects that were successfully funded had to focus on sprucing up their downtown cores and main streets.

Some examples of other projects funded across the northwest included a skate park expansion, trail upgrades and new playground equipment.

READ MORE: Northwest B.C.’s public spaces get a $2.9-million spruce up


 Kaitlyn Bailey | Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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