Kimberley City Council received an update on capital projects in a report that outlines all the work planned for this summer at their regular meeting April 22.
In addition to the annual road rehab program, the Marysville Industrial Park servicing, phase 1, has begun.
The Knighton Road realignment will be beginning soon. In addition to the infrastructure work, a grant has also been received for an walking path through the area.
The Marysville Columbarium installation is expected to be completed in June.
One project that will be of great interest to many Kimberley residents is the Cominco Gardens rejuvenation. The city applied for, and was awarded, a grant for the project.
The Admin Report says that staff are working with the design team to finalize concepts and the tender will be issued in May, with construction beginning this summer/fall, and completion in summer of 2025.
The scope of work includes full renovation to the public washrooms to make them accessible and a retrofit to the “Tea House” building facade.
As Cominco Gardens will be under construction for the duration of the 2024 season, City staff will not be completing any annual planting and will be completing minimum required maintenance to the areas not affected by the construction, such as mowing and trimming. Staff will be working closely with the contractors and consultants to ensure disruptions to the adjacent properties are minimized.
Landscaping and the addition of a bandshell are planned for Centre 64 as well.
“In an effort to reduce costs on the bandshell and keep the project within budget, staff have worked with the design team to simplify the bandshell construction. In working with the Kimberley Arts Council, it was determined that it was important for the stage to remain an enclosed space with walls on the three sides. Staff are working with the design team to incorporate the walls and potentially a roll down door on the front side.”
The landscaping includes a row of tiered seating, a mix of hard scaped surfaces, lawn and gravels, native species plantings, conifer and deciduous trees as well as a public bathroom and other site furnishings.
Funding for this project is through a combination of grant money from Columbia Basin Trust and the Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI).
Also on the books for this summer are bike park improvements. Funding has been secured for both phases. Phase 1 will be improving the dirt ump tracks for all abilities and bringing the course up to current best practices for bike park design.
Phase 2 of the project is replacement of the existing dirt pump track with an upgraded asphalt track.
These are only some of the projects that will have city staff very busy in the coming months.