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Alex Fraser Park Society makes plans for repairs and upgrades

A facility index report highlighted some areas in need of major maintenance
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Animals big and small were taken in at Alex Fraser Park during the wildfires last summer by the Pet Safe Coalition. Karen Powell photo

The Alex Fraser Park Society presented an overview of its plans for the park at a recent North Cariboo Joint Planning Committee meeting on Mar. 13, with society board president Greg Brink and director Robin Hay going through the events taking place and renovations needed for the space.

Brink and Hay outlined a number of issues that need attention at Alex Fraser Park, after a facility condition index report was done on the grounds last summer, with funding from the Joint Planning Committee.

The report concluded that the upgrades are needed to the site’s drainage system (with an estimated cost of $15,900) and to its electrical system ($18,500), as well as to the structure of the main agriplex ($19,800).

The Alex Fraser Park Society receives funds from the North Cariboo Joint Planning Committee, various grants, and revenue from events.

“The agriplex building is 25 years old, and there needs to be a detailed inspection as to what upgrades are necessary,” says Brink.

“The other two capital projects that came out of the audit were the ground drainage, because the park is built on an old riverbed. We need to develop and overall plan for drainage. And the other part is that, because the park has been built in stages and added to over the years, we need to do a detailed electrical study to see what improvements need to be made,” he explains.

Brink says staff at the City of Quesnel will be spearheading the capital projects.

There were also minor repairs needed – general maintenance items like fixing doors, windows, etc. – that came out of the report, and the Alex Fraser Park Society has developed a list of priority repairs to work through over the next few years.

Outside of the facility condition report, the Alex Fraser Park Society is hoping to do upgrades on the livestock pens – with a cost of about $35,000 – and to begin planning to replace the current fur and feather buildings with a multi-purpose agricultural centre, with an estimated price tag of $189,000.

“The fur and feather buildings need to be replaced. They were temporary 30 years ago,” says Brink.

“We are hoping we will be able to replace those facilities with a larger small-animal facility, as a partnership with other groups [including the City of Quesnel, Farmed, College of New Caledonia and the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture].”

Cariboo Regional District vice-chair John Massier says last year’s facility index report has energized the groups that use Alex Fraser Park.

“They’ve got some great plans for giving the park a much needed facelift,” he says.

“They have their operating and capital plan for this year but their agreement to manage the park is coming due in 2018 so they were giving us a heads up that they’ll be coming to renegotiate an agreement for the next several years and they’re hoping it will include a renewed investment in the property,” he adds.

“The wildfires were a real test and some of the things we knew weren’t up to snuff came up when they were taking care of the animals that were displaced by the fire.”

Alex Fraser Park hosts events all year long, both indoor and outdoor. High-profile events include the Quesnel Rodeo, which takes place during Billy Barker Days, the RCMP Musical Ride and the Quesnel Fall Fair.