A Diamond Valley service club expects to see youngsters squeal with delight as they splash around in their town’s newest park.
In just three months, the Foothills Lions Club expects to turn the water on to its 31,200 square-foot spray park east of Turner Valley’s Dr. Lander Memorial Swimming Pool with an anticipated grand opening on May 30.
“The motto of the Lions Club is we serve,” said Barry Crane, chairman of the club’s spray park committee. “I think three years of fundraising for a 35-member club has exceeded all my expectations.”
Crane said while the project is almost complete, the club has a lot of grunt work in the coming weeks to see the $559,000 park ready for use.
With the equipment installed last year, the club will need $5,000 each for landscaping, picnic tables, concrete beneath the tables, concrete around the change rooms and park entry, signage and corporate donation plaques and completion of the change rooms, he said.
“We figure $30,000 should be enough to wrap up the project,” he said. “We have $15,000 in funds and hope to have the rest donated in kind. We’re aiming to get as much work in volunteerism and materials as possible.”
Among the club’s many fundraisers since spearheading the project in 2012 is ceramic tiles to be placed on the exterior of the mechanical/change rooms.
The final painting session is at the Sheep Creek Arts Council, beside the Valley Neighbours Club, on April 17 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and April 18 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Members of the arts council will be available for anyone needing assistance.
Crane said the Foothills Lions Club sold 150 tiles and hopes to almost double that number this spring.
“Every tile sold is just a bonus and a great memorial for anyone living in the area,” he said.
The tiles sell for $50 each, with $47 going toward the park’s expenses.
For more information or to purchase a tile contact Karla at 403-933-2473.
While the club has taken on the lion’s share of the work, Crane said it wouldn’t have made it this far without community support in the way of donations, volunteers, materials and equipment.
“The community has been astounding,” he said. “The businesses always give to silent auctions and do small acts of kindness that go a long way. Someone always amazes you at the right moment. It really shows the togetherness and solidarity of the area. Hats off to the community members.”
The Valley Neighbours Garden Club in Turner Valley is pitching in by planting hardy shrubs and bushes throughout the new park to contribute to the landscaping.
Club coordinator Bea Ertmoed said the garden club’s mandate is to help its community, and the members felt the spray park was a great community project.
“We need something in town here to bring people in and something for the kids to do,” she said.
Ertmoed said the club consists of experienced gardeners who can find suitable plants for the region to beautiful the park.
“Through living in this area for a lot of years we know what grows well and what doesn’t,” she said. “We are going to use hardy plants for this area – mostly junipers and potentillas.
We want everything to be low maintenance.”
The Friends of the Turner Valley Pool Society are also helping out by applying for funding to install fencing around the park, said Crane.
The Foothills Lions Club will continue looking for support from local businesses and volunteers to complete the finishing touches on the spray park.
Crane, a father of two young children, sees the spray park as an added benefit to living in the Diamond Valley.
“I think that in conjunction with the outdoor pool for small families this is going to be so easy to access,” he said, adding there will be no cost to use the park. “You can sit back and relax and let your small ones run and play. We’ve got 5,000 people just in Diamond Valley so it will get used quite a bit. It will only increase in popularity.”
Crane also expects the park will draw families to the area, especially those driving through on their way to the Kananaskis.
“For tourism it’s definitely an attraction when you look at the popularity of outdoor water parks,” he said. “With the amount of traffic we get down the Cowboy Trail this will be an added stop for them. It’s exactly what you need to refresh, relax and get back on the road if that’s what you’re doing.”
Once the Lions Club completes the spray park, it will turn ownership over to the Town of Turner Valley, Crane said.
For more information about the spray park, to make a donation or to volunteer your services or equipment contact Barry Crane at 403-933-5385.