City sets up fund to ensure money will be used as donors wish

Mill Lake Park in Abbotsford is the city’s top attraction, according to travellers’ rankings on Trip Advisor Canada. Abbotsford News file photo

A pair of Abbotsford residents are set to make a large donation to improve Mill Lake Park’s amenities.

The donation has also sparked the city to create a new reserve fund to handle the funds, along with any other future donations towards the crown jewel of Abbotsford’s park system.

Two anonymous residents who have lived next to Mill Lake for years approached city staff earlier this year “expressing a desire to make a large monetary donation” to the park, according a report presented to council this week.

The pair wanted to make the donation to recognize the value the park has made to their lives and to give back to the community. They hope their donation will go towards capital improvements, and won’t be used for maintenance or operating expenses.

The size of the donation has not yet been made public, but it is significant enough to prompt the city to create a special reserve fund to ensure the money is used as intended by the donors. The fund could also “facilitate potential further donations for the same purpose from other members of the public,” a staff report says.

“It’s very meaningful what they’ve done and it’s going to be, I hope, the beginning of a vision,” Coun. Ross Siemens said.

The city also has plans to start work on a new master plan for the park in 2021. Staff say it would “identify a phased implementation strategy of park projects and programming.”

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