Cartier Park in Ste. Agathe has been renamed, and a spokesperson says that is just the beginning of a planned multi-million dollar upgrade.

Christie de Rocquigny sits on the board of directors with the Ste. Agathe Community Development Incorporation (CDI). She says they have released a new master plan for the park.

The park is now called Cheyenne Park. She notes this aligns with Cheyenne Summer Fest, which is the community's annual festival. It also references the S.S. Cheyenne, which was a 19th century Red River steamboat.

de Rocquigny explains this park has not had a new master plan in probably 20 years. The new plan was developed by a sub committee, with the help of a consultant. The plan includes a swimming pond, new serviced campsites and potentially some seasonal campsites as well. It also includes updating some of the equipment in the park, such as their play structures, upgrading their baseball diamonds and then adding new washrooms and showers.

According to de Rocquigny, the park today has about 14 serviced campsites as well as a group camping area. There are two baseball diamonds as well as a beach volleyball court. The park has an events centre and disc golf course. There is also a pond there that is not being utilized.

de Rocquigny says there are still a few things they need to finalize before determining an exact cost. However, she suggests that if they would complete everything in this plan today, it would probably cost in the neighbourhood of $2 million. She adds they will have to determine how to pay for this project, but says they will probably rely on fundraising efforts and hopefully receive some grants as well.

When asked what she hopes they can accomplish in 2021, de Rocquigny says they have already received some grant money to upgrade their baseball diamonds, and they are hoping to complete that this year. They would also like to build a new washroom and shower facility where the current one exists and then come up with a multi-year phased plan for how to approach and complete this entire project.

"The community seems very excited about it," says de Rocquigny. "We've had a few extra people offer to volunteer, which is always good."

She notes currently the park is maintained by volunteers. de Rocquigny says hopefully in the near future they can hire someone to manage the park.

de Rocquigny says the CDI has always wanted to continue improving that park. She notes the baseball diamonds get used a lot and the park can be quite busy in summer.

"On a normal summer the events centre is used quite a bit, as well as the campsites are often booked," she says.