A new indoor play structure at Genesis Place Recreation Centre opened July 20 and was immediately called, “a good addition to the facility,” by Mayor Peter Brown.
“I got to play on it and it’s awesome,” he said. “The kids had a blast. If you’re looking for something to do or it’s a rainy day or cold outside and you want to have some fun, you just drop in and have some fun. It’s a great opportunity for the City to provide some great recreational opportunities.”
A redesign of the existing play area in Genesis Place was announced by Banff-Airdrie Conservative Member of Parliament Blake Richards July 24, 2015. Richards announced a $97,000 grant for the Genesis Place project would be coming from the federal government’s Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program (CIP), intended to help Canadians celebrate 150 years of confederation in 2017.
Completion of the redesign of the play area cost approximately $70,000, with 50 per cent of that coming from the CIP program.
“We have a second project at Genesis Place taking place in 2017 that accounts for the balance of the funds – the replacement of the Leisure Pool Spray Features,” said City of Airdrie Communications Advisor Sarah Kucharski in an email to the Airdrie City View.
“The combined total of these two projects was anticipated to be $194,100 with 50 per cent of the funding ($97,050) coming from the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program. At this time we have only completed the first portion of the grant funding request.”
The balance of the funding is coming from the City’s reserves, according to Kucharski.
The upgrades to the play area included removing an existing play structure and replacing it with the brand new unit, as well as replacing the flooring and mechanical systems.
The redesign did away with the existing ball pit – which was seen as a health hazard – and included the addition of an area specifically for babies and crawling toddlers.
