The final pad design for the fully accessible Port Elgin Lion’s Club Splashpad at North Shore Park.

Hub Staff

The site for the Port Elgin Lion’s Club Splashpad at North Shore Park has been prepped and is ready for construction to begin. Although an exact date has not yet been set, plans for a ground breaking ceremony are in the works for the first week in May. The construction contract was awarded to ABC Recreation Ltd. in February with official opening ceremonies set for June 29.

The splash pad is expected to take up just over 2,400 square feet or 1.23 percent of the park. “We've taken down the four trees we committed to as part of the splash pad and if you go down there right now you can see where stakes have been put up where the splash pad will be located and the trees that came out that are associated with the splash pad,” said Jayne Jagelewski, Director of Community Services with the Town of Saugeen Shores in an April 11 interview.

Jagelewski said that the Town had received a call concerning what appeared to be additional tree removal in the park and explained that the Town goes into North Shore Park every spring to remove trees that have not made it through the winter. “We lose a lot of trees in the spring time or in the course of the winter from storms. Cedar trees have a high root ball level so they don’t last long,” she said, adding that in addition to the four trees removed for construction of the splash pad, another six trees were removed as part of the routine spring cleanup. “I think I heard 27 trees we took down which is false. In fact some of those stumps may be from previous years... because, like I said, we do this annually.”

The North Shore Park location has not been without controversy but was ultimately given the green light from Saugeen Shores Council in December, 2016.

Jagelewski said that additional trees will be planted in North Shore Park over the course of the splash pad project. “We’re planting more trees than we’ve ever done before at North Shore Park,” she said. “We’re working with SauGREEN as well, and our Parks Manager has applied for putting some trees in.”

A splash pad is also planned for accessible Jubilee Park in Southampton, a Southampton Rotary Club initiative, with its official opening ceremonies planned for July 28.

Both the Port Elgin Lions Club Splashpad Committee and the Southampton Rotary Club Splash Pad are expected to reach their respective fundraising goals of $362,000 and $150,000.