Smiths Falls to honour Foulkes’ with $500K transformative project on town hall land

By Douglas Boyle

Smiths Falls is considering different designs for a project which will see a band stand and park built outside of town hall, in memory of two important community members.

While the band stand will be only a part of the $550,000 project, Mayor Shawn Pankow says it will be an incredible tribute to community members Tom and Pat Foulkes.

“They were real community builders in our town. They were instrumental in the creation of our station theatre; and they have been involved in numerous things over the years. In Pat’s memory, Tom made a donation to the town to create a lasting legacy for her,” says Pankow.

“Unfortunately, Tom passed away late last year. We had hoped we would have it built, and he would be the one cutting the ribbon, but now we will follow through for the memory of the two of them.”

While the cost of the band stand is projected between $120,000 and $180,000, Smiths Falls has ambitious landscaping goals to transform the park between town hall and the public library, bringing the cost to around $550,000.

Funds are expected to be provided by the Town of Smiths Falls in combination with donations and grants from Canada Healthy Community Infrastructure, however, no funding has been confirmed yet.

Foulkes’ donation of $100,000 to the town in his wife’s memory will go towards the betterment of their community.

“It’s going to be a great asset. It is a beautiful part of town, it’s very central, close to the library and it’s going to provide people with a quality outdoor space that we are all looking forward to enjoying,” says Pankow.

The project is still in design phases, with designer Quentin Navarre proposing five different variations of the same 25 ft. timber frame gazebo. With intentions to provide the residents with live music in town square, the band stand is expected to also provide lighting and electrical outlets.

Town council and Navarre are hoping the design choices will be approved by the Municipal Heritage Committee so they can move forward with public consultations and funding for the project.

Navarre has designed the band stand with the characteristics of Smiths Falls’ architecture as inspiration, proposing designs that best reflect the surrounding area.

“I don’t see a difficulty getting it to consensus and the end result is something I think Tom would’ve been extremely proud of,” says Pankow.

After public consultations, Mayor Pankow is hopeful the outdoor space can be transformed by late summer.

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