Kivi Park, which quickly became a popular destination in Greater Sudbury since it opened in 2017, will soon be charging fees to access the park.
Kivi is located on Long Lake Road and includes lands formerly occupied by Long Lake Public School, as well as land donated by Sudburian Lily Fielding. At 300 acres, Kivi Park is the city's largest park — 23 times larger than Bell Park.
It also offers access to Crown land leading to three lakes — Crowley Lake, Linton Lake and Camp Lake — and provides a city connection to Killarney Provincial Park. It has quickly become a popular destination in the area, offering access to trails, play structures for children and is home to a number of events.
While much of the construction of the park was done through donations and volunteers, the people running the park say they now have to begin charging fees to pay for the operation and upkeep in the long term.
Melissa Sheridan, who has been involved with Kivi since the beginning and speaks for the park, isn't available for an interview on the decision until Thursday, Sudbury.com was told.
But the park has been having a lively dialogue with users on its Facebook page, where many people said they are unhappy with the decision to charge fees, while others were in support.
Annual operating costs for the park run about $200,000 a year, even with an all-volunteer staff, Kivi Park said in a statement. Beginning in late June, users will have to pay some sort of fee to access the park, with the user fees paying the operating costs.
“Insurance alone for the park costs $28,000 annually,” the statement said. “Park maintenance including grooming excellent cross-country ski trails, a skating path through the forest, playground maintenance and so much can only continue if the park charges a fee for users.”
A not-for-profit, the Kivi Park Community Foundation is entirely run by volunteers, the statement said, “and Kivi Park needs to become sustainable to continue to operate for the next 100 years.
“Park visitors can opt to support the park by paying a daily fee when visiting or an annual fee for year-round access. Those who identify as having difficulty to pay a fee but would like to access the park will still be welcome to join us through an endowment fund and receive the exact same pass as everyone else.”
While rates have not been finalized, the fee will be comparable to what day passes costs at area ski hills. While some online were supportive of the decision, the fact there will be a fee to use the child play structures was a shock to some.
“I have an issue with the idea that the park was a gift from Lily Fielding for people to enjoy and then suddenly imposing fees,” was a common refrain. “If that were the stated plan from the beginning it would have been less of a shock. Having to suddenly pay money to be on the land where we have been all along for free is the issue.”
In response, the park said the play structures alone cost $750,000 and must be carefully maintained every year.
“In the future, these assets and many other park assets will require additional capital investment as well to enhance it, repair it, and eventually replace parts or all of it,” the park said. “The entirely volunteer team at Kivi Park is starting to plan for these future long-term funding realities as well.”
And while the Fielding family has donated generously, there was never a plan for her to donate operating costs in the long-term.
“The reality of creating a brand new park of this scale is incredibly onerous financially and even Mrs. Fielding's remarkable generosity is not able to fund everything required and it was never her intention to fund the operating costs that will continue long after she is gone, unfortunately.”
For more information, visit the park's website.
