Planning is beginning on the replacement of an iconic pier in Summerland.
The Kiwanis Pier, near the Gordon Beggs Rotary Beach, is in unsafe condition and has been closed to the public since late November, 2022. Because of the condition of the pier, with many of the pilings rotting, the structure cannot be repaired and must be replaced.
Summerland council earlier earmarked $300,000 of the $4.533 million Growing Communities Fund money to go to the replacement of the pier.
This money is in addition to $200,000 which was set aside earlier to remove the pier.
READ ALSO: Summerland council and Rotary Club to work on pier replacement
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Connie Denesiuk, with the Summerland Rotary Club, is one of the organizers of a pier replacement project, in collaboration with the municipality.
The Rotary plans to fundraise for the pier’s replacement, but the exact details haven’t been decided yet.
Denesiuk said the goal is to make the new pier the best it can be.
“The more money we can raise, the more enhancement we can give the community,” she said.
She added the project could also help to bring the community together.
“I see this as a great opportunity to come together with a shared common vision,” she said.
The pier was opened in 1999 and has been a waterfront landmark. It is on the same spot and follows the same design as the former Canadian Pacific Wharf. The wharf had been constructed in 1910 as a transportation link in the community, but by the 1970s it was showing its age and it 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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