Lakewood Park Receiving New Playground Thanks To Great Plains Manufacturing

Jeff Hammond, Interim Director of Parks & Recreation, stood before the City Commission on Monday to request a unique agreement authorization.

Hammond presented the authorization of the purchase of a replacement playground for Lakewood Park and to accept a sponsorship donation for the purchase and installation of that playground.

Jeff Hammond started by saying that "one of the most important aspects of any park system is its playgrounds. Through play, children can develop many skills on challenging and safe structures."

He went on to state that the Salina Park System has 22 playground installations, with several parks having more than one unit. Lakewood Park has one playground unit, and it is #1 on the Park Replacement Plan. Lakewood Park Playground is 26 years old, being built in 1995. Additionally, Hammond said, the surface is composed of sand which is not considered acceptable to ADA standards.

Recent funding for parks has come from the Special Parks Funds, which is distributed to the City of Salina from the State of Kansas through the sale of alcohol. It was anticipated, Hammond stated, that these funds were not going to be enough to cover the desired replacement of two playgrounds in 2022. As a result, City Staff sought to find a sponsor for donating playgrounds, which resulted in finding Great Plains Manufacturing for the donation of Lakewood Park playground.

In explaining the City policy on seeking sponsorship, Jeff Hammond explained that any sponsorship over $20,000 must be approved by the governing body. Examples of sponsorships entered into before have included scoreboards at Dean Evans Stadium and Salina Field House. More specifically, a playground sponsorship used for reference was Bill Burke Park, where the Red Baron Chapter of Ambucs sponsored in 1997.

For this sponsorship, Great Plains Manufacturing is proposing to provide sponsorship for $100,000 for the purchase of the playground. Additionally, Mr. Roy Applequist, founder and former President of Great Plains Manufacturing, has committed to donating $50,000 toward this project.

The surfacing choice will be 100% ADA acceptable, similar to that which is at Olivia's Playground.

The total expense for the project without sponsorship is $235,424. With the sponsorship and donation, the total City expense is $85,424, which would be funded from the Special Parks Fund.

The motion passed 5-0.