A new, revitalized skate park is coming to Oliver, B.C. thanks to a monumental community effort to win the grand prize in a major contest.
The Oliver Small Wheels Playground project received one of the highest number of votes in the BCAA Play Here contest.
The Kiwanis Club of Oliver nominated the project and it was selected as a top 6 finalist, sparking a frenzied effort to net enough online votes to win the cash prize.
WATCH: BCAA Play Here Finalist #3: Oliver Small Wheels Play Space
“We went to the schools, we talked to all of the students about the project and asked them to talk to the adult in their life who were 19 so they could vote for the project,” Oliver Parks and Recreation manager Carol Sheridan said.
“It took a couple of days for the news to really sink in like, ‘Hey we have a chance at this, let’s do this’ and then as we gained momentum it took over,” she said. “Everywhere you went in Oliver people were talking about it.”
People could vote up to four times per day on four platforms; Facebook, Twitter, Google and email.
Voting took place from June 3 to 23 and the three winning projects were announced on Tuesday.
Those involved in the campaign were elated to win up to $100,000 for the revitalized skate park, but organizers are unsure exactly how much money they will receive.
“I’m really hopeful that is $100,000,” Sheridan said.
WATCH: Oliver Small Wheels Playground Project submission
She added that funds will be matched by the RDOS through the community works gas tax fund, recently announced by RDOS Area C Director Rick Knodel.
“The one condition I have asked for is that the new facility is put under 7/24 video surveillance using infrared for night surveillance to eliminate light pollution,” he said in an email.
The existing skate park was built in 2000 in memory of a local teenager and passionate skateboarder who died in a tragic accident.
However, the design had flaws and virtually all of the features are crumbling, bent, uneven and broken.
“We are going to remove everything that is there and we are going to use the existing facility footing to rebuild a new revitalized street-style skate park,” Sheridan said.
She pointed out that the small rural town lacks facilities for young people.
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