Burlington Council Unanimously Authorizes City Staff to Accept Patrick J McNally Foundation $1.125M Donation for New Park Amenities

At our May 17 meeting, Burlington Council unanimously authorized City staff to accept a community donation from The Patrick J McNally Charitable Foundation for various recreation and park infrastructure amenities in our city.The City of Burlington and the Patrick J McNally Charitable Foundation (the Foundation) have developed an excellent relationship and in recent years have partnered on the design and construction of various recreational facilities throughout the City. In 2018, the Foundation funded a water service and splash pad for Bolus Park as part of theKABOOM! community project. They also financed a new water service for the Francis Road community garden.Most recently the Foundation financed the reconstruction of Valley Inn pedestrian bridge and 100 sheets of artificial ice. Both contributions support year-round outdoor recreational opportunities. The artificial ice provided a much-needed outdoor activity during the pandemic.The Foundation has now committed to donating $1.125 million over 2022 and 2023 for the design and construction of new park amenities. Details are provided in the table below.

2022 Projects
Central Park - $150,000	Accessible multi-user swing	This multi-user swing will accommodate mobility devices and up to four people at once. No wheelchair transfer will be required. This will be the first in Ontario.
Sweetgrass Park - $60,000	Medicine Wheel/Healing Garden	To coincide with the renaming of the park, work will include a park identification sign and interpretive signage. Details and scope of this project will be determined in consultation with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Leighland Park - $450,000	Ball hockey/basketball combination courtFitness equipment loopShade structure with picnic tables	The park amenities included here will be added to the larger park renewal project that is currently underway. All these additions were requests from the public that could not be accommodated within the park capital program.
2023 Projects
Lansdown Park - $400,000	Splash padNew water service	This splash pad will be a new feature to the park and designed/constructed as part of the larger park renewal.
Port Nelson Park - $65,000	New water serviceDrinking fountain with bottle filler	This feature will support this lake-side park and users of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, supporting active transportation.

Further discussions with the Foundation about increasing the City’s inventory of park washroom buildings have also been very positive.Here is the full motion that Council unanimously approved:

Authorize the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture to accept the donation from Patrick J McNally Foundation for various recreation and park infrastructure amenities as outlined in recreation, community and culture department report RCC-05-22; and

Authorize the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture to execute a donation agreement, subject to the satisfaction of the Executive Director of Legal Services and Corporation Counsel, with the Patrick J McNally Foundation for various recreation and park infrastructure amenities as outlined in recreation, community and culture department report RCC-05-22; and

Authorize the Director of Engineering to incorporate the various recreation and park amenities donated by the Patrick J McNally Foundation, into the applicable park improvement projects as outlined in recreation, community and culture department report RCC-05-22.

For more details, please click here for the full staff report: RCC-05-22 Community Donation from Patrick J McNally FoundationMY TAKE:I thank The Patrick J McNally Charitable Foundation for their incredibly generous donation to the City. We do good things in the community because we have good community partners like the Foundation. This is incredibly good news for our city and our community.