The municipality of Summerland and the Rotary Club will work together on replacing the Kiwanis Pier at Gordon Beggs Rotary Beach.
At the Summerland council meeting on April 24, council voted to accept the Rotary Club’s offer to engage the community and coordinate fundraising efforts for the replacement of the pier.
Municipal staff will work with the Rotary Club to support the fundraising efforts.
READ ALSO: Summerland council commits to funding pier replacement
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In early April, a delegation from the Rotary Club of Summerland approached council to present their goal for replacing the pier.
This agreement follows a decision by Summerland council to provide a portion of the money it received from the Growing Communities Fund to rebuilding the pier.
Council earmarked $300,000 of the $4.533 million Growing Communities Fund money for the pier. This $300,000 is in addition to the $200,000 earlier set aside for the removal of the existing pier.
The pier, which opened in 1999, has been a waterfront landmark in Summerland. However, a structural report presented to the municipality in December, 2022 said the pier was no longer safe and could not be repaired.
The cost of replacing the pier has been estimated at up to $1 million. Summerland council applied for $1 million in a B.C. tourism grant, but the grant was denied.
The pier is on the same spot and follows the same design as the Canadian Pacific Wharf. That wharf, constructed in 1910, was an important transportation link in Summerland. The wharf was showing its age in the 1970s and was eventually torn down.
The existing pier was constructed by the Summerland Kiwanis Club and the Rotary Club of Summerland, with the help of donations from the community.
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