Pictou pitching in on Trenton Park revitalization
Work on improved infrastructure, new features expected to begin next spring
The Town of Pictou is the fourth council to support capital work improvements for Trenton Park.
Pictou Mayor Jim Ryan announced today in the company of Trenton Mayor Shannon MacInnis and Jen Bethell of the Hemlock Group that Pictou council has agreed to a grant request, and is contributing $5,775 toward the Trenton Park’s revitalization project.
“We feel very strongly in Pictou that is important that all municipalities get together and support existing infrastructure,” said Ryan. “Anything we can do to improve, enhance and maintain a facility is a benefit to all of the residents of Pictou County and its visitors.”
The Town of Trenton announced earlier this year it will be committing $100,000 to a revitalization expected to cost $2.6 million in total.
Trenton town council has been in consultation with the Hemlock Group, a volunteer group of 11 local community members who want to breathe new life into the park.
Some of the proposed features include a new playground, a remodernized pool, a dog park, landscaping, picnic area and a splash pad. “The amenities and facilities in the park are being developed to be universally accessible to ensure wide use and participation by all socio-economic demographics within our community,” says a previous statement by the Hemlock Group.
New Glasgow and Stellarton have also approved their capital grants for the park but Westville asked the town to reapply for funding next year since some of its funds are tied up with the construction of a new splash park in Acadia Park. The county also invited Trenton to reapply before February 2018 since its grant process had already closed for this year.
The town will be applying for funds from all levels of government and is planning a community fundraising campaign. It also hopes to begin the upgrades next spring.
“From a capital perspective, this is an investment we all need to make in our county,” said Ryan, who remembers visiting the park as a child and knows that school children from across the county attend events there throughout the year. “I know we have our own individual projects, but we need to look beyond our own borders in terms to what is a benefit in this is to all of our residents.”
MacInnis said he believes that once the project is complete, it will be destination spot for tourists and guests from neighbouring Nova Scotia counties.
“We want this to be destination for people out of the county to come here which will benefit everyone in the county. If they are coming here, they are not making just one stop. It will be making multiple stops that benefits everyone,” he said.