The clock is ticking on St. Mary School’s aging playground as parents and staff search for $200,000 for a replacement.
Parts of the current equipment have been deemed unsafe and unless funding for a new one can be found, all of Southview could be left without publicly accessible play equipment.
“Can you imagine an elementary school without a playground?” said Wendy Batog, president of the St. Mary Playground Fundraising Committee.
Many students use the playground, especially in the younger years, as well as preschoolers and neighborhood kids.
It is over 30 years old and its foundations are rotting away in places said Batog.
Some parts of the equipment, like the tire swing, have already been removed and half of what’s left is scheduled for demolition this summer, with the reminder gone by summer 2016.
So far $17,000 has been raised and the fundraising committee has put a $200,000 goal on their efforts, although Batog thinks it may be possible to do the job for less.
She’s looked to Fawcett as an example of how a school can get a new playground without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.
“Fawcett put in their brand new playground for $89,000,” Batog said.
“They had volunteers put the whole playground in. To replace what we have for just equipment we’re still looking at probably $140,000, even if I get 10 guys out there with a skid-steer and a bobcat.”
Batog is leaving no stone unturned in the effort to raise money for the replacement playground.
Amongst other things, the committee is planning a spaghetti night and silent auction April 9 which will include items like a fire truck birthday party and supper prepared by St. Mary School principal Sheila Glebe.
They have also set up a table at Sobeys to raise money and awareness of the issue.
One option that’s not available to the school is money that would be provided through the Alberta Lotteries Fund.
As a Catholic school, St. Mary is excluded from obtaining that kind of funding.
“One of the unfortunate things is that there’s always assistance that people can get from grants from the Alberta government, however the money comes from gambling and casinos and being that we’re a faith-based school we are not allowed to attain those funds,” Batog said.
The group also approached town council, noting the number of residents who use the playground and the lack of an alternative for kids in the Southview area.
Council declined to provide funding at this time, saying at its March 9 meeting it wanted to see the committee raise more money. In addition council also wants to view the results of the municipality’s master recreation plan before committing to the project.
Town of Westlock CAO Dean Krause said recreation plan is still in the early stages with a request for proposal currently being drafted — the final report won’t be done until December.
He doesn’t feel that will impact planning for the 2016 budget cycle though and projects like the St. Mary playground could possibly be included when the recreation report is drafted.
“We would be aware of anything that’s imminent or we would want to get into the 2016 budget,” he said.
Regardless of what the town’s review finds, the school will still need to raise money for its playground.
“Children at school still need a place to go that’s safe that’s right at the school. Even if the Town of Westlock says they are going to put a playground in on the south side somewhere else, our school still needs a playground,” Batog said.
