Council is moving forward with the Osoyoos Rotary Club’s request to rename a park at the end of Cottonwood Drive. (Michele Weisz photo)
By Vanessa Broadbent
Osoyoos Times
The park at the end of Cottonwood Drive could soon be called Rotary Park.
The Rotary Club of Osoyoos addressed Town Council on Dec. 17 and asked that renaming the park be considered.
Club member Brian Rawlings told Council that Rotary would also fund improvements to the park such as benches, picnic tables or beach improvements.
“We would love, as a group, to have our name more established in the community as a sense of a permanent fixture,” he said.
In a letter to Council, club president Jeff Duguid said the improvements would be in line with the Town’s goals and planning ideas.
In September, the Rotary Club donated $27,500 for Osoyoos Elementary School’s new natural playground.
The group has also provided $20,000 for the Osoyoos Splash Park.
Rawlings said the local branch of the club is “small but mighty.”
“Being a relatively small club, it takes us three to four years to accumulate enough funds to make a grant project work.”
Councillor C.J. Rhodes shared his support for renaming the park.
“To me this is kind of a no brainer,” he said. “I can see this relationship working well from the beginning and nurtured over a long period of time.”
Mayor Sue McKortoff praised the club for its accomplishments.
“Certainly the Rotary Club in Osoyoos is a very active group. I don’t know how you manage it all.”
Council unanimously voted to more forward with the renaming process. Town staff was directed to present a report with more information at a future meeting.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that council was considering renaming Cottonwood Park. Instead, a park at the end of Cottonwood Drive is being considered.
