With donations and grants pouring dollars in for the outdoor skate park, the project looks to be well on the way to becoming a reality.
“Things feel great right now,” said Rob Levesque of the Kootenay Lake Outdoor Skate Park Society.
“It’s been eight years of determination and perseverance just to try to make it happen, so to have all this money and have the community behind this, we’ve never felt so good and been so optimistic about the project.”
The project received a $400,000 grant last month from the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development’s community recreation program that the City applied for.
On Monday an additional $10,000 through the Columbia Basin Trust’s community initiative program came through.
Levesque said the next step for the group is to meet with several different groups.
“We have most of the money in the bank and we’re just down to figuring out the logistics of the project,” he said.
In total, Levesque said the cost will be around $600,000, but he’s unsure exactly at this point.
To raise the remainder of the required money, the group is still applying for grants, accepting donations with various sponsor levels identified, and will begin a $50 per square foot donation campaign soon as well.
In addition, Levesque said they’re hoping to have some of the materials and labour donated to the project.
“We’re hoping to break ground this summer, but we don’t know for sure yet. Until then we’re meeting with the City, talking with engineers and going through the steps to get this together,” said Levesque.
“It’s been a long process and things feel great right now.”