A Hamilton city councillor says more time is needed to determine the future of local waterpark Wild Waterworks.
City councillors voted to take extra time, until December, to explore some options for the 40-year-old water park.
According to a staff report, it’s expected to cost millions to keep the park open.
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Ward 5 Councillor Matt Francis, who actually put forward the motion to defer the decision, says there’s been a lot of plans and information accumulate over the years that the city needs to go through to come to a solution.
Francis says the options include a public-private partnership where someone will take over, replace everything in the park for $26 million and completely revamp and upgrade the park, which could cost anywhere from $30 million to $60 million.
Francis also says there’s a ‘do nothing option’, which could mean the park fails in a few years. But he says the park is a huge asset for the kids in the community.
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“It is a vibrant area. You come down here on a hot summer day, it’s lined up all the way down the street. I’m a season pass holder here, my kids love coming down here. There’s a hundred thousand visitors here each and every year,” Francis said.
Francis adds that there’s been quite a few meetings over the years about the future of this park and it’s important to note that in every single meeting everyone wanted a park.
