Cache Creek Council announced this week that it had completed the purchase of 2.2 hectares (ha) of farmland at the north end of the current pool park for $137,000 plus the cost of subdividing and registration.
And plus the cost of $7,400 worth of new fencing, which was approved at the Sept. 29 Council meeting where the land purchase was announced.
Mayor John Ranta said the purchase had been in the works for some time, having been reviewed by the TNRD last October and by the ALC this Spring.
The town’s Parks, Recreation and Trails Master Plan, written in 2011, also seems to have anticipated the addition of the land.
Council supported the purchase, said Ranta, because they hope it will mitigate Spring flooding in the park. He said he observed floodwater moving from the field into the park, and that a berm between the properties should allow the water to return to the river without entering the park.
Marg Durnin asked Council why no mention had been made of the purchase until now. Ranta replied that land negotiation could be discussed in private by local governments.
Durnin pointed out that the property will be subject to large capital expenditures in the future, such as the fence, and yet it was not mentioned in the 5 Year Capital Plan.
Ranta said Council saw the piece of property as a parkland legacy to the Village, and thus the money for it will come out of the Village’s Landfill Legacy Reserve, which has $3-4 million in it.
The Jounal questioned whether the park’s flooding was caused by water coming from the field, saying they had observed water coming up through the ground inside the park during this year’s flooding.
If that’s the case, said Ranta, it won’t reduce flooding. But it can be turned into a sports field in the future.