Sparwood council updates community projects

Plans for an outdoor stage and public washroom at Centennial Plaza are active again after the District of Sparwood secured a $650,000 grant.

Council approved its final strategic-priorities update of the current term Sept. 1, placing the Centennial Plaza project among five immediate corporate priorities.

Council had put the project on hold while the District sought outside funding. Confirmation of the Columbia Basin Trust grant allowed it to return to the active list, with project scoping identified for September.

The funding comes through the Trust’s Gathering Area and Town Hub Enhancement and Revitalization program, known as GATHER. The District says it will support construction of a new accessible stage and public washroom facility at the plaza.

The project would add another piece to the redevelopment of the downtown gathering space, which began in 2022. That work raised the former square to street level and added accessible walkways, green space, seating, planters, lighting and an outdoor fire pit. Centennial Street was also resurfaced as part of the project.

Centennial Plaza officially opened in August 2023 during Summer Fest. Hundreds of residents attended the event, which included live music, children’s activities, local vendors and a community barbecue.

The stage and washrooms were described at that time as a future addition intended to make the plaza more useful for music festivals, plays, outdoor events and larger gatherings. The Sept. 1 update returns that next phase to council’s immediate work list after the municipality obtained the grant needed to move it forward.

The council report did not include a final design, total construction budget or building schedule. The current milestone is to determine the project’s scope.

The other immediate priorities are construction of the wastewater treatment plant, completion of the development cost charges bylaw, information gathering on solid-waste management and preparation of a new zoning bylaw.

The solid-waste item could later be renamed urban-wildlife management following council’s direction to develop terms of reference for a possible committee.

Hot-tub repairs and the recreation-facility options process were removed from the active list and recorded among council’s completed priorities.

Chief Administrative Officer Michéle Schalekamp described the update as the final priorities report for the current council term. The plan will not automatically transfer to the council elected in October, but it can inform the next council’s decisions.

Acting Mayor Amy Cardozo said the list of completed work demonstrated how much municipal staff had accomplished during the four-year term.

Council approved the updated priorities without opposition.

In a separate community-services update, Cardozo confirmed that the District has cancelled its preschool classes because too few children registered to form a full class.

Cardozo said combining the classes still did not produce enough enrolment to run the program. The District also had to consider the staff time required to provide the classes with the number of children registered.

The cancellation was discussed during council announcements rather than through a staff report, and council did not vote on it at the meeting.

Cardozo pointed families toward other preschool options available in Sparwood. She said suggestions had been shared through a District Facebook post for parents looking for alternative programming.