Kids will be going on ‘safari’
An artist’s rendering of a ‘Safari Kid Zone’ playground system proposed for purchase by the City of Abbotsford for $107,000.
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A large-scale play structure for kids will soon be swinging its way into Abbotsford’s Exhibition Park from Ontario.
The City of Abbotsford has secured a deal on the Safari Kid Zone, which is five years old and had been used at a mall in Ottawa that went into receivership.
The city estimates the cost of transporting the structure, and installing it inside the storage room in the northwest corner of the Ag-Rec Building, at 32470 Haida Dr., will be $107,000.
Through user fees, pre-school programs, and birthday party and other rentals, the city plans to recoup those costs inside five years.
Mark Taylor, the City of Abbotsford’s director of parks, recreation and culture, said the Safari Kid Zone was worth $180,000 new.
The cost to buy the structure and have it transported, he said, will be $31,000. The remaining costs would pay for taxes ($2,000), building renovations ($35,000), container bins ($12,000), replacement parts ($5,000), installation ($7,000) and marketing ($15,000).
The completed Safari Kid Zone will be 48 feet long, 24 feet wide and 16 feet high.
The required funds will be taken from the city’s capital reserve fund, said Taylor, and repaid over the next five years.
The play area proposal was pitched to Abbotsford council on Monday night, and was unanimously approved.
It is now expected to be transported from Ontario sometime next week.
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