During the inauguration (left to right), we see the prefect of the Haut-Saint-François MRC, Robert Roy; Christiane Goudreau, president of the FADOQ Cookshire-Eaton; and in the same order in the back row, Sylvie Lapointe, Mayor of Cookshire-Eaton; and Marie-Claude Bibeau, Member of Parliament for Compton-Stanstead.
It was on a recent beautiful sunny day that the Municipality of Cookshire-Eaton officially opened the outdoor recreational site located at Cloutier Pond.
The resort will be open to the general public in the summer of 2022 and is intended to be a place that will facilitate intergenerational exchange, contributing to a better quality of life for seniors, families and the population in general, said Mayor Sylvie Lapointe. “The intergenerational site is an opportunity for seniors to get involved in a developmental project where all generations can come together and exchange ideas. The objective of this place is to integrate seniors and lead them to be physically and mentally active in the environment by offering them a location where it is possible for them to organize activities for the community and to interact with families and young people during day camps and other occasions.”
The development of the park, bordering the Cloutier Pond, will make it possible to practice water sports and boating in kayaks, pontoons, or pedal boats. FADOQ Cookshire-Eaton will supervise the rental of the various boats. On site, boaters will find a shuffleboard game, a volleyball court and picnic tables. For amenities, the municipality has set up a four-season chalet to accommodate about fifty people. Seniors can hold activities there during the fall and winter. Hiking enthusiasts can walk the path that circles the pond.
Other Phases
The outdoor resort is far from complete. Other phases are planned, such as the addition of a path linking the park to the John-Cook covered bridge, the development of an outdoor rest area, and the addition of a field for horseshoes or pétanque. “In winter, it would also be possible to develop various activities and hiking trails for walking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking.” Ms. Lapointe also mentioned the possibility of creating an ice surface on the pond. “We will adjust, the city is very open to your suggestions. With 85 acres surrounding the site, the possibilities for the development of outdoor activities are almost endless and several other phases can be expected in the coming years, and our use of the MADA-Family approach will certainly lead us to deploy very interesting projects for the people of Cookshire-Eaton,” the mayor enthused.
Owned by the municipality, the site has been abandoned since 2011 and its development required an investment of $200,000. The project was made possible thanks to the financial contribution of $115,000 from the Territorial Development Fund (FDT), the management of which is entrusted to the Haut-Saint-François MRC. Marie-Claude Bibeau, outgoing Member of Parliament for Compton-Stanstead at the time of the press conference, mentioned that she would be attentive to the projects mentioned, if she were to be elected, and undertook to support the promoters whether by the new Community Revitalization Fund or the New Horizons for Seniors Fund. Mentioning that the MRC du Haut-Saint-François was happy to participate in the project, Prefect Robert Roy stressed “the luck we currently have with the federal and provincial levels of government which are transferring funds to us to develop our regions. We really appreciate it and we try to show these levels of government that we are the right place to be able to develop our regions.” Roy also emphasized the importance of having a place where seniors can go and recharge their batteries.