After four years of fundraising, the Greater Athabasca Community Foundation (GACF) broke ground on its Boyle spray park project June 21.
Local dignitatires, GACF members, community members and their children attended the ground breaking ceremony for the spray park project. The spray park is set to be located at Millview Park and is slated for completion in August.
GACF president Lindsey Stanton said the park will attract more people into Boyle.
"We are super excited," Stanton said in an interview. "It's something that's going to draw people from the lakes into town on these hot days, like today. It's going to be free so anybody can use it, so it should be a good draw for the community."
The park will have a variety of features, including a rainbow archway, water guns and different sections for various ages of children.
Boyle Mayor Colin Derko attended the ceremony said in an interview he was proud to be part of a community with great volunteers.
"It started off as a dream for them and it's going to end up being a big part of our community," Derko said. "Such a great volunteer group that's working hard to make Boyle a better place."
After aquiring the funds to get the project started, GACF opted to switch the contractor for the spray park after disagreements with the original contractor.
The switch resulted in the project costing approximately $240,000, which is $100,000 less than the original price under the old contractor, according to GACF treasurer Terryl Turner.
Those savings will be put towards future GACF projects, Stanton said. She added the next project has not been decided, but the society is exploring a skate park, an outdoor rink and a play park as possibilities.
Boyle resident Don Alexander attended the ground breaking ceremony and said GACF should be commended.
"I saw the original proposal that this group of ladies had and shook my head a little bit because I thought it would never come to realization," Alexander said. "I'm so happy they've done it. It's just been an excellent effort by a number of individuals."
Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA Colin Piquette attended the groundbreaking and said it took the GACF a long road to get here.
"Even the process, I think, has been really positive for the community. Just showing how resilient Boyle is," Piquette said in an interview.
Former GACF member Kristina Heggs attended the groundbreaking and said the spray park will be a good thing for families in Boyle.
"It's a community with a lot of young families and children and I think it's just such a positive thing when there's another attraction we can enjoy as families," Heggs said in an interview.
Stanton said the August completion date was contingent on weather and nothing going wrong during construction. The spray park would run up until September, Stanton added.
Derko said the project sets an example for Boyle.
"It showed that hard work by volunteer groups can turn dreams into reality and that's what it's all about in these small communities," Derko said. "Dream big and work hard."
