It’s about wellness
East River Rec Association calls on county to fund facility
Association in Springville has plenty of people using its rec facility, but hopes to get funding support from county
A recreational facility in Springville is more than a ball field, says a trustee of the East River Valley Recreation Association.
Mike Hecimovich of Springville said people unfamiliar with the site like to refer to it as just a ball field, but it has become so much more in the last five years.
“We have applied for council grants that go towards infrastructure in areas, but they continually deny us because they call us a ball field. We are more than that. We are a wellness centre out here. We are a multi-use facility.”
The softball field is located next to the recreational facility that includes swings, a walking trail, picnic tables, basketball and road hockey courts. There is also a public washroom on site that will soon be upgraded so it will be more accessible for seniors and people with disabilities.
He said the East River Recreation Association is off the Trans Canada Trail so he often sees cyclists having their lunch or resting at the picnic tables.
Hecimovich said the recreational area sat dormant from 2009 to 2012 after which a plea went out looking for volunteers to bring it back to life. Now, it is operated by a board of directors, and is used regularly by families as well as by the Plymouth recreational group during the summer months.
“They (council) don’t see recreation in the county as important,” said Hecimovich. “Look at all of the advertisements on television from Participation and Sport Nova Scotia about places for kids to play. Well, this is a place for kids to play. It’s not just a ball field.”
The recreational association has received municipal service grant money from councillors in the past, but most recently it applied for a council grant to cover the cost of new backstop for the ball field after the previous one was destroyed in a winter storm.
The council grant was denied so Coun. Andy Thompson allotted $3,500 and $500 from Coun. Chester Dewar through the two districts’ municipal service grants.
Each district in the county is allotted a certain amount of money each year and community groups can apply for this money in the form of municipal service grants.
When it was turned down for the full replacement costs under the council grant application, it applied for a $3,500 municipal service grant to cover a portion of it and Watts Wind Energy provided the rest of the $6,500 through its own community grant program.
The new backstop is expected to be completed this fall.
He said fundraising does take place throughout the year for the recreational areas including a bottle drop-off at his own home. On any given day, residents will stop in and place bags of refundables in a building on his property and all donations go the East River Valley Recreation Association.
Recently, during a six-week period, the bottles generated $200 for the association. He said it all adds up in the end, but it takes time to get enough money together to apply for grants that require the association to put down at least a third of the cost of a project.
All of this slows down the work that needs to be done to the recreational facility.
“They (the county) give money out for all kinds of things,” he said. “In Thorburn, they have a ballfield and rink and they get money from the county. What is the difference here? Volunteers are burning out and I am getting older. I don’t know how many years I can keep pushing this along. If there was help from our municipal representatives, it would be wonderful.”
In the future, the association would like to expand its walking trail and resurface the area used for basketball and road hockey.
Hecimovich said residents are appreciative of the work taking place and have mentioned the improvements. He said he never has trouble getting people to help with projects or participate in fundraisers.