As we head into winter, excitement continues to build in Willow Ridge!
What is there to be excited about? Many of our user groups are coming back to the building after a difficult spring and summer. Although reopening is not without its challenges, if we can do our part as an association to provide a safe and comfortable gathering place for our members and residents, a much needed break from the isolation that we have all had to manage (and endure) for the past several months can be provided… with compliance with the latest guidelines of course!
We continue to evaluate our staffing model, with the goal of providing the necessary levels of service to our community members and hall users, while keeping within our budgetary constraints given the “new normal”; that applies to community gathering places such as ours.
I am excited to announce that we were successful in obtaining a $30,000 grant from the Calgary Parks Foundation to help pay for some the replacement of some well used rink maintenance equipment, as well as covering a large part of our share of the costs of replacing our tennis/sport court fence and resurfacing the asphalt base. We plan to get started on that project in the spring, and I expect the pickleball players in our community will be excited when they see some dedicated court space just for them!
After completion of the rink boards, we also decided to move the basketball nets onto our rink surfaces. This seems to be well received by the hoops players, who can now play in a larger space, with lighting for those games that just won’t end, as well as by the adjoining residents.
We still have a number of capital projects that we need to address and complete, and hopefully over the next few months your board can spend some time prioritizing, costing, and of course figuring out how to fund these items! If you have interest and experience in capital projects, funding strategies and execution, I would love to hear from you!
In the meantime, stay warm and safe and I hope to see you on the rink this winter!
Don Boykiw, [email protected]
