The Westlock Rotary Club dug deep and donated a hefty $100,000 to the Town of Westlock at the Mayor’s Breakfast last Wednesday.
A quarter of that money will fund Rotary Trail upgrades and the remaining $75,000 will help purchase a new handi-bus.
“This is a milestone year right now,” said Rotary president David Truckey. “Our district governor for Rotary District 5370 is from Westlock, Laura Morie. It’s also the 100th anniversary of the Rotary International Foundation and it’s also the 100th anniversary of the Town of Westlock, so we decided as a group that we would like to do something that has a lasting impression for the community.”
Under the “100 for 100” initiative to mark the town’s centennial, the 65 members of the local club collected $100,000 from their successful run of the Rotary dinner theatre, as well through the memorial golf classic and trip-of-the-month draw.
“This organization continues to recognize the importance of working together to build a community where people want to live and do business,” mayor Ralph Leriger said at the breakfast.
The Rotary’s contribution will cover half the cost to replace the current handi-bus, which Truckey said is on order and should be delivered in mid-January.
“The handi-bus is, we think, a very vital part of the community,” he said. “For people that don’t have the option of their own vehicle, it’s a very cost-effective way to get around town for seniors and people with mobility issues.
“The town, of course, has operated that handi-bus for many years, but the bus needs replacement, so we felt by contributing to that project, we were providing a good solid multi-year contribution to people being able to get around the community easier.”
In addition to the bus, a quarter of the donation will fund improvements to the Rotary Trail, a 10-kilometre path through the town.
“The Town of Westlock has an improvement plan, so by us contributing additional dollars, it will speed up improvements to the Rotary Trail that the town has in its budget cycle,” Truckey added.
Simone Wiley, the town’s director of Development Services, said she and a committee of three Rotarians would first look at identifying and filling the gaps along the trail before it’s refurbished with things like garbage cans, benches and dog-waste stations.
“(The donation) will definitely help Rotary Trail move forward because for the town, the Rotary Trail was part of the improvement plan, which is split between everything else, so the money will go specifically go to the Rotary Trail and definitely speed things up.”
The first step will involve adding a section of trail that is currently not clearly marked.
“We’re directing people to cross the highway and it’s just a line on a map, not a trail,” she said.
Through the Alberta Recycling grant, Wiley hoped to get mats made of recycled rubber tires to place down on the path.
She noted that the committee agreed more signage was needed on the trail and that the town has already purchased a significant amount of directional signage this year, which will be installed in 2017.
“We’ll continue working on looking at other areas and how to make the trail better and continue to meet with the rotary committee,” she said.
“We’re happy they designated these people and I look forward to working with them in the future.”
