Following a long and winding road to completion, Fort Frances mayor Andrew Hallikas gave kudos to all those who have been involved with helping the town’s newest amenity reach its opening day.
As part of his regular report to council during Monday night’s meeting, Fort Frances mayor Andrew Hallikas gave a special shout out to all of the individuals and organizations who have been involved in the more than year-long process of getting the town’s new splash pad, located at the Legion Park in west Fort Frances, open and running. The splash pad had its official grand opening last Sunday, June 23, 2024, with Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford on hand for a free community barbecue to help celebrate.
“I want to do my shout-out of the week, and my shout-out of the week goes to the Make a Big Splash Spray Park Committee and the Royal Canadian Legion for their vision and determination in building a brand-new beautiful spray park and refurbishing Legion Park,” Hallikas said.
“In spite of the rain, it was an amazing event. There was an excellent turnout and the set-up of the grand opening was first class, thanks to Travis Rob and Cody Vangel who went early to help set up.”
The splash pad has been in the works since 2022, when the Make A Big Splash committee formed to begin fundraising for the new amenity to be located at the existing Legion park. As the donations for individuals, organizations and businesses rolled in, the scope expanded to include landscaping and renovations to, and replacement of, the existing park structure to help bring the whole space in line thematically. New washrooms and additional parking space was also added to make the space more accessible to families during the busy summer months.
Hallikas also extended his thanks to the Legion’s colour party and bagpipers for the event’s march-in, as well as members of the 908 Rainy Lake Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, MPP Rickford and his staff, and those members of the town who pitched in to make it all a reality.
“And thanks go to our councillors, our administration and our staff for their support and commitment to this project and their attendance at the grand opening,” Hallikas said.
“Thanks to our public works crew, the parks crew, the crew of the Fort Frances Power Corporation, and again along with Cody Vangel and Craig Miller for their expertise and hard work. But I can’t say enough about the Make A Big Splash Spray Park committee chaired by Becky Andrusco and the Legion for all of their efforts and determination to make this project a reality. There were many, many problems along the way, but the committee persevered and overcame them, and the committee and the Legion invested countless hours planning, coordinating and overseeing every aspect of this project.”
The splash pad and park revitalization project also benefitted from a grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) to the tune of $499,000, for which Hallikas thanked and acknowledged Rickford, who chairs the organization’s board of directors, and his staff.
The mayor encouraged everyone who was not able to attend the spray park grand opening to stop by to see the site and cool off on a hot summer day.
