During a visit to the new pastoral park, Facey remarked to his wife how helpful it would be if there was handicapped parking in a formerly vacant lot near the park site.
“The day they had the unofficial opening, we were down and saw the wonderful work the (Rotary Club of Westville),” said Facey. “I remarked to my wife it would be nice if the town could acquire that lot.”
Within days of the opening, a very serendipitous opportunity presented itself – the land that Facey remarked about went up for sale.
“It was almost as if it was preordained. On Monday, the ‘for sale’ sign went up,” said Facey. “I thought, the hell with it. I’m buying it and giving it to the town. We did so partly for accessible parking, and partly in memory of my sister.”
Facey’s sister Linda – who passed away last year – made an educational career out of working with people with special needs. He thought it fitting to dedicate the project to her legacy.
“If you drive by that lot, there’s a beautiful view of the park,” noted Facey. “If someone were to have put a structure up there, it would have ruined the view plane of the park. It seemed like a good idea to make an offer, so I called and the gentleman was kind enough to accept my offer.”
Facey noted that there were a number of opportunities created by establishing the lot. One was a place for the CHAD bus to park – far closer to Acadia Park than where it had to park before.
The original plan for the lot had been to build a pharmacy – a plan that Facey was grateful was abandoned, for fear of the building ruining the pleasant view of the park.
“People are always talking to the mayor and asking, ‘What can the town do for me?’ Sometimes, people have to do something for the town,” said Facey. “To quote my favourite musician, Thomas T. Hall, ‘since we done that, I sleep good and miss a lot of trains.’”
Councillor and Deputy Mayor Lynn MacDonald said council “is amazed and thankful” for Facey’s contribution, adding, “it’s pretty awesome,” to see a private citizen stepping up and helping out the way Facey has.
“We’re amazed, and think it’s wonderful that he’s done this for us. Some members of council knew Facey’s sisters,” said MacDonald. “It’s a beautiful piece of property, that makes a wonderful addition to the park.”
