Glendon outdoor leisure park project gets $500k in funding from M.D.

An outline of where the athletics field would go and the list of features that the park would have.   

The M.D. of Bonnyville is supporting a big recreation project in Glendon.

The M.D. has funded up to $500,000 to the Glendon Green and G.O.L.D. (Glendon Outdoor Leisure Development) project which looks to keep children active and give a public recreation space for people of all ages.

The project is spearheaded by the Glendon School and includes an eight lane shale track, two baseball diamonds, soccer and football fields, beach volleyball, outdoor basketball, tennis and spaces for various outdoor track and field events.

Athletic director at Glendon School Daryn Galatiuk, said he’s had a vision of this project for about 15 years, and was speechless when he heard the news.

“Honestly, we just couldn’t believe the number when it hit us. I know when I found out, I said, ‘Is he joking?’ I can’t believe the support from the M.D. and their council, and we’re so proud to start moving forward with this project,” said Galatiuk.

Glendon School is almost perennially successful at 1A Track and Field Provincials, and now the funding gets those athletes one step closer to having a proper place to train, instead of running on the street.

“We’ve been pretty successful over the past decade and I just can’t imagine what our kids could actually do without a proper field, proper equipment, proper facilities to train. Just to have a cement pad to throw a shotput and discus off of will be unbelievable.

“As a coach, I can’t imagine how much my life will change, and much how the kids lives will change with this,” he said.

The total project cost is just south of $800,000, and now the school and the village are taking the next steps towards construction.

“This is huge for our community,” said Mayor Laura Papirny. “We are very grateful for the M.D. support of this. This is truly a project that will benefit and be used by our entire community. Our kids don’t really have access to the C2 or the Energy Centre, so now they can have a place to practice and no longer running on the village street or highway.

“I’m ecstatic to see this project so heavily supported by the M.D. and I’m excited to see this progress.”

The funding comes from the M.D.’s industry cares legacy fund, said Reeve Greg Sawchuk.

“In the MD we get a lot of taxation revenue from the oil business, you’ve got a lot of wells out there, that brings a lot of revenue in. What the MD wants to do is recognize that fact, so we’re taking that money and putting right back into the community, infrastructure and long lasting projects that are really going to make a difference, and it’s not limited to just the M.D., but also the town, city and villages,” said Reeve Sawchuk.

In the M.D. meeting Wednesday Nov. 28 when the motion to support the project passed, there was hopes that construction would begin next year.