Wiarton’s Bluewater Park is getting a bandshell.
Town council approved a staff recommendation at its meeting Tuesday, (August 2nd) to get the project done as soon as possible.
Staff say grant funding requires the entire project be completed by December 31st, 2022.
A bandshell was first identified as a desired feature in the 1990 Waterfront Master Plan after public engagement sessions were held.
In order to complete the project within the aggressive timeline in the conditions of the grant, Town staff have recommended purchasing a pre-engineered bandshell from Cedar Forest Products that includes pre-cut and drilled pieces.
The report says the Town has approved $450,000 in its capital budget for Bluewater Park improvements, that includes $326,250 in anticipated funding. Staff say, through additional successful grant applications total project funding is now $598,750.
They say Bruce Power is also contributing $40,000 to the project.
Mayor Janice Jackson says, at the outset, the mobile band shell that’s currently in Sauble Beach was intended to be used in Sauble, Wiarton, or anywhere in South Bruce Peninsula, but noted at the meeting, “We’ve had it now for four years, five years, and there’s so much happening at Sauble, it’s really hard to bring it down to Wiarton, and in fact, on Canada Day, there was a conflict because the Optimist Club wanted it for their festivities but the Chamber in Sauble had already pre-booked it well in advance, so I think having a bandshell that Wiarton is going to have exclusively for their use, I think is going to be terrific.”
CAO Bill Jones added in discussion at council, “We were ecstatic when we got this grant,” he says the location for it has been identified as ideal in previous studies and is close to a building that has electricity running to it that can be used for the stage.
The bandshell will be located inland from the old train station, not far from Dock Side Willie’s restaurant, with speakers facing out towards the water, rather than in the direction of the town.