A group of volunteers working to rebuild a playground in Singhampton have asked Grey Highlands council for financial support.
Members of the local group that runs the Singhampton Community Centre and Park attended the Grey Highlands council meeting on Feb. 26 to make a request for financial support for a community project to rebuild the playground equipment at the local park.
Singhampton is located on the eastern side of Grey Highlands and is right on the border with the Township of Clearview.
Andy Uden spoke to council about the playground project. He explained that in 2024, the group had the park’s playground equipment inspected and it was determined the equipment was out-of-date and it would be too cost prohibitive to repair. The playground equipment was later removed.
Since that time, the group has been working on raising funds for new equipment and on researching options available for the project. A budget of $75,000 has been set and fundraising efforts have been proceeding. They are requesting support from both Grey Highlands and Clearview for the project.
“The Singhampton Community Centre and Park is a volunteer-run; not-for-profit organization. Our goal is to maintain the hall, ice rink, ball diamond and park to the benefit of the greater Singhampton community and residents of both Grey Highlands and Clearview Township,” Uden said during his presentation.
After receiving the delegation, council unanimously passed a resolution requesting a report from staff on options for how Grey Highlands could provide support for the playground project.
Coun. Paul Allen noted that the request was somewhat unusual.
“Singhampton is a fairly large community that is sitting on the border of two municipalities,” he said and asked if Grey Highlands would be permitted to use parkland dedication reserve funds to support the project, since the park was actually located in the Township of Clearview.
CAO Karen Govan said it was her “gut feeling” that the municipality would not be able to use parkland dedication money for a project outside its boundaries.
“It’s a good question,” Govan said, pointing out that Grey Highlands would not be permitted to use development charges for a project outside the municipality. She said she suspected parkland dedication money, which is collected from developers specifically for parks purposes, would have similar rules in place.
The resolution approved by council included a request for funding options available to support the project as well as direction to staff to reach out to their counterparts in Clearview about possible joint grant applications for the playground project.