It isn’t in this year’s city budget, but additional work on Rutland Centennial Park is going to get another look by council before the 2018 budget is finalized in the spring.
During Thursday’s budget deliberations, Mayor Colin Basran won support from council to bring back this year’s plan to complete phases 3 and 4 on the park. The $350,000 project was in this year’s budget but was dependent on a federal Canada 150 grant to pay for the work. The city did not get the grant and the work did not occur. As a result, it was not included in the 2018 budget.
Coun. Brad Sieben agreed with the mayor saying there is an expectation in the community that the work will be done.
The city bought the park from the Rutland Centennial Park Society last year for $800,000 and a promise to start improvements. Some work has been done already but it requires more.
The money the society received was to be used, along with a successful Canada 150 grant, to make improvements to the adjacent Rutland Centennial Hall which the society kept. The renovations have started and are currently underway.
Basran’s move regarding work on the the park does not guarantee it will make it back into the 2018 budget, but it will be discussed by council prior to the adoption of the city’s final 2018 budget which must be done before the end of April.