**CITY OF TIMMINS NEWS RELEASE**

The Hollinger Park is undergoing a major facelift, with many upgrades planned to take place over the next few years, and the City is asking for the public’s patience while the popular park sees changes and improvements.

The City is committed to providing regular updates as work progresses, and encourages those with questions or concerns to contact the City of Timmins directly.

For the week of Sept.24-28:
– The entire playground area is now closed for the season;
– The Hollinger Mini-Putt will remain open at this time;
– All material that had been stockpiled to the north has been relocated to allow work to begin and also allow for more fill to be added to the stockpile;
– Soil samples of the stockpile were taken by Wood consulting and sent to AGAT for testing and will be reviewed when returned but we do not expect different results than local testing.
– The paving stone walkway and decorative rocks around the miners monument will be temporarily removed;
– A geotextile fabric will be installed prior to spreading the fill material on the North field;
– Samples were taken of the topsoil in the south field to test for PH and salinity levels both of which returned well within the desired limitations;
– The installation of a new water line for the splash pad and skate path will begin this week;
– Sodding will begin on the baseball field starting on Saturday by Niagara North;
– Work on the grandstands continues by Praztek Construction. The sandblasting and painting of the roof beams is almost complete;
– Work on the electrical upgrades at the park will begin shortly;
– Hydro Seeding will also begin shortly by LaFleur Gardens.

Background:
Due to a report issued regarding soil contamination, significant fill is required to be added to the park. This reality provided an opportunity for the redesign of the open-space area, leading to a five-year phased plan being developed.

A conceptual design was prepared by Dillon Consulting in 2018 and the city has also secured the services of an engineering firm to complete a detailed lot grading and drainage plan to accommodate the soil that is to be added to the site.

The complete 2016 Hollinger Park Soil Sampling report is available through the City’s website:
http://www.timmins.ca/download/reports_and_publications/Soil_Sampling_Program_Hollinger_Park.pdf