Owen Sound is looking to a federal grant program to help finance improvements at Kelso Beach Park.
City council approved a recommendation from the Community Services Committee at a recent meeting to apply to the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund to cover up to 50 per cent of nearly $1-million in park improvements and infrastructure upgrades.
According to a staff report, the city was approached by Summerfolk staff and board members in September about the opportunity to apply for this grant.
The hope is to make Kelso Beach Park more capable for large outdoor events and improve shoreline protection given recent issues with flooding and erosion.
A new stone wall was built at Kelso Beach earlier this year – at a cost of $150,000 — after high water levels and wave action flooded parts of the park in the summer, forcing the closure of several amenities, including the picnic pavilion, the amphitheatre and portions of the waterfront trail.
The city’s grant application includes several capital upgrades at an estimated cost of $980,000.
Amenities included in the grant application are accessible picnic tables for the pavilion, replacement of the beach washroom, completion of remaining shoreline protection, trail relocation and repair, electrical upgrades, amphitheatre rejuvenation, a new pedestrian bridge and new park amenities like waste receptacles, tables and shade sails.
If grant approval is received, the recommendation from city staff is to implement the upgrades at Kelso Beach Park over a number of years.
The city would be responsible for about $490,000, as the grant program covers up to 50 per cent of eligible expenses.
The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund is a Government of Canada grant to support the improvement of physical conditions for arts, heritage, culture and creative innovation.