BARRHEAD - The fundraising effort to name Barrhead's all-wheel park after Dr. Marvin Wray is in its homeward stretch.
That is according to Rita Lyster, who spearheads the campaign with her husband Steven.
As of Jan. 3, the campaign had raised 70 per cent of the funds necessary to name the park after the family and emergency room physician who served the community for over 40 years, including a lengthy stint as the community's medical director. He passed away in November 2019 after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 70 years old.
Lyster said that Town of Barrhead councillors, following a Nov. 14 in-camera session, approved a Memorandum of Understanding, giving the campaign until November 2024 to secure the funds.
"A bit of the pressure is off us. We've raised significant funds, so the town has given us some additional time to raise the money," she said.
Initially, when the town released its sponsorship package in late October 2022, following the completion of the concrete work of the park, the $100,000 sponsorship portion of the park was on a first-pay basis.
"However, we are not free and clear," she said. "As I understand it, another group could come in, but we would have the right of first refusal with the [municipality] coming to us to give us one last chance to raise the necessary money", Lyster said.
Lyster added that she decided to spearhead the effort in the fall of 2022, saying that the park named after Wray was a fitting way to honour the physician, noting he was "all about kids."
Wray came to Barrhead in 1978 after graduating from the University of Alberta medical program, specializing in obstetrics.
Wray and his life partner Bonnie, a registered nurse who he met in Barrhead, delivered countless babies throughout his career.
Lyster has also noted that Wray was almost a permanent fixture at the Barrhead Minor Hockey Association games and could often be found volunteering as a timekeeper, most notably in the penalty box.
In previous interviews, Lyster and others involved in Barrhead minor hockey noted that young players would often intentionally take penalties to see Wray, who would often give candy to the offenders.
Lyster added that the campaign started strongly, raising over $40,000 in its first fundraiser in February 2023.
She added they raised an additional $30,000 through two other fundraisers, a planned but eventually cancelled fun run in late May and an Octoberfest event in the fall.
But Lyster noted that most of the participants who had registered for the run and the sponsors chose to allow the campaign to keep their fees and did their best to salvage the event by hosting a barbeque at Freson Bros, raising roughly $12,000.
Similarly, participants of the cancelled Oktoberfest event donated their registration to the campaign, and these funds, combined with an online auction, raised about another $14,000.
Lyster said she is concerned that the fundraising effort might be losing momentum.
"The park is extremely popular," she said, noting that dozens of children and youth can often be seen using the facility in the afternoons and weekends. "They think that since the park is built, there is no longer any need to fundraise, but that is not true. The town plans to continue improving the park; that all comes with a cost."
CAO Ed LeBlanc, answering a Jan. 3 inquiry, said the 2024 capital budget includes $30,000 for constructing pit toilets and $100,000 for creating an adjacent mountain bike skills course in 2025.
Donations can be mailed to Rita Lyster at 5309-58 Avenue, Barrhead, T7N 1N1 and e-transfers can sent to [email protected]. Tax receipts are available.
All-wheel park history
Although multiple councils had discussed the possibility of a new all-wheel park to replace the old facility next to the curling rink for several years, the general public first learned about the potential construction of an all-wheel skatepark in early June 2021 when the council announced the municipality would be partnering with the Barrhead CARES Coalition to create a survey asking residents about the features they would like to see in a park.
Two weeks later, they selected the location of the park, a municipally-owned property near the old Champion Feeds building on the east side of 50th Avenue between 55 A Street and 56 Street south of Highway 18.
In late January 2022, the council selected New Line Skateparks to design and build the park. In March, they held a public information session that included staff from Newline Skateparks and in late April council approved the final design. In mid-June council hosted the official groundbreaking ceremony, and approximately a year later, the town held its official grand opening ceremony on June 23.
The initial funding for the all-wheel park was through a Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) grant. Originally, council capped the budget for the park at $800,000, but in July 2022, councillors approved an additional $49,000. The additional funds were required to cover cost overruns due to extra groundwork because the property was formerly a CPR railway site.
