On Tuesday people involved with the St. Jean splash park gathered to break ground on the new project.

Committee member Stephanie Jablonski is happy to see the project get started.

"My personal involvement was designing the splash park and also organizing meetings. A little bit of everything," she said, adding work will start immediately.

Jablonski was asked how the idea for a splash park came about.

"It started off with the reeve having a vision of a splash park in the community and bringing the community together," she said.

"There was a lot of discussion about what we can do for recreation once the curling rink was no longer viable, so we decided that a splash pad... would be a good fit," said RM of Montcalm reeve Derek Sabourin.

Jablonski is also excited about adding a play area to the splash park, because the play structure in St. Jean is geared toward older children.

"What we're hoping to bring with the splash park, is a younger kid playground and some swings specially designed for them," she said.

The $600,000 dollar project is being funded by St. Jean Parks & Rec, donations from the fire department, quad derby, minor baseball, the Montcalm Community Development Foundation, and curling rink reserves.

"Completion won't be done until the spring just because we're also working with the building of the fire hall," Jablonski explained.

Fundraising will include a picnic table sponsorship opportunity for families and businesses, chase the ace, and other types of fundraising efforts.

For anyone interested in supporting the project, contact Stephanie at 204-758-3747 or email splashpark@mail.com