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ARICHAT - A local community development group is hoping to receive Richmond Municipal Council's support for an ambitious park project that could start taking shape as early as this summer. 

Rachelle Samson, a spokesperson for the Arichat Community Development Association (ACDA), made a presentation on behalf of the group to the February meeting of council's Committee of the Whole. At the time, she outlined several amenities that the ACDA wishes to establish at the new park, which would be connected to an existing skateboard park located near Arichat's only school building, Ecole Beau-Port. 

According to Samson, the ACDA's park plans include an outdoor skating rink, a splash pad, and an off-leash dog park. The latter option drew praise from District One councillor Shawn Samson, whose constituency takes in eastern Arichat as well as Petit de Grat and the surrounding communities. 

Samson confirmed that her group has reached out to other local communities that have developed park projects in recent years. These include the Port Hawkesbury Community Park, which won financial support from the national society Let Them Be Kids and, as a result, cut down on the cost of playground equipment and the labour required to erect it. Under the Let Them Be Kids regulations, community volunteers are charged with setting up playground equipment in a single day. 

Speaking to reporters two weeks later, following the February 22 regular council meeting in Arichat, Richmond Warden Amanda Mombourquette spoke enthusiastically about the ACDA's proposal and suggested that the association might also gain from speaking with organizers in River Bourgeois. This community, located in Mombourquette's own District Four, is also preparing to develop a family park over the coming months.