Summerfolk (Photo by Nathan Shubert)
Owen Sound’s community services committee will review a draft Kelso Beach at Nawash Park updated master plan at its meeting Wednesday night.
The existing master plan for the 22-acre westside waterfront park property was prepared in 2010. A report by Owen Sound’s Director of Parks and Open Space Adam Parsons says staff have undertaken an update to the plan, which included input from community stakeholders.
The updated plan includes more than 30 recommendations to implement over the next 10 years. They range from priorities like recognizing Kelso Beach at Nawash Park as a cultural heritage landscape important to local Indigenous cultures, to potential capital improvements at the property.
In all, around $2-million in spending is proposed over the next decade in the master plan. Parsons’ report highlights more than $1-million in capital improvements in the near term.
Next year, more than $180,000 in spending is planned for new shade sails, electrical upgrades and a new flagpole at the Giche-name-wiikwedong Reconciliation Garden to fly the Saugeen Ojibway Nation flag.
Some other major capital projects in the plan over the next five years are a replacement of the washroom building in 2024/25 ($125,000), the relocation and construction of a new playground in 2026 ($200,000) and lighting for the Kelso Beach south trail in 2027 ($300,000).
Parsons’ report explains the proposed capital costs are estimates and will require council approval before moving ahead.
“Each project will be contemplated through the city’s normal capital budget planning processes and will be presented to council as recommendations at the appropriate time,” Parsons says.
The creation of beach maintenance and tree planting plans, and an improved waste management strategy are also recommended in the Kelso Beach at Nawash Park master plan update.