PRAIRIE CREEK —
Vigo County’s Prairie Creek Park is the next county playground site to see a major upgrade and improvement, with construction slated to start in late August or September.
“We are in the design phase now, which will be completed by July 1 for the new playground site,” said Kara Kish, assistant superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
Prairie Creek’s new main playground will be moved south of its current location to an area near two existing tennis courts.
The remodeling will remove one of the tennis courts and that space will be used for a new 900-square-foot playground.
The remaining tennis court will be rebuilt, with two half court basketball goals added on the tennis court, allowing a dual use of the court based on a first-come, first-use basis.
In addition, a parking area for 15 to 20 vehicles will be added along with a trail back to a bathroom facility next to the park’s softball diamond.
“This large playground will service southern Vigo County, as it is a long way to go to a park like Deming Park [in Terre Haute]” where a big playground is located. “Providing a large playground structure will benefit people in southern Vigo County,” Kish said.
The existing playground site in Prairie Creek Park, near a shelter, will be remodeled later with a much smaller playground structure, Kish added. Construction on the new playground site is slated to take about a month to complete.
The Prairie Creek playground improvement is estimated to cost $70,000 to $75,000, but could end up costing less. Kish will seek corporate sponsorship to help lower costs, to allow the park department to fund other projects.
Kish has set aside $100,000 a year from a nonreverting park fund to pay for playground site improvements. Camping fees, shelter fees and maple syrup sales are the income source for the fund. The set aside represents 75 percent of the annual nonreverting fund total, Kish said.
“We have about 10 playground sites throughout our parks department, like in Fowler Park we have two sites,” Kish said. “We have aging equipment in all of those sites. With an update in safety standards, we want to modernize all of our equipment. We started last year and have a goal of within five to seven years of remodeling all of our playground sites and adding a few extra sites,” Kish said.
“The reason we can’t do it all in one year is money. Financially, over five to seven years we will be able to replace everything,” she added.
Last year, the park department’s first playground site to be remodeled was the half-acre George and Ida Smith park, located in the center of Prairieton. Park officials did that design in-house, holding public hearings to gain input on park improvements.
J3 Concepts, a Terre Haute planning and development consulting firm, is doing the design work for the Prairie Creek Park playground. “Because of the scope of this project, we are working with a designer,” Kish added.
A “phase two” project is being included in the design for Prairie Creek Park, but is slated no sooner than 2015. The added phase includes a water splash pad area, envisioned to be installed near the park’s campground. That would cost $100,000, but remains a low priority until other playground sites are improved, Kish said.
In addition to Prairieton, last year the park department replaced a smaller playground at Fowler Park at Shelter B, named the Brentlinger Shelter, and added a new small playground in the Prairie Creek Park camp ground.
In 2013, park officials will concentrate on the South Seventh Street Park in West Terre Haute for its next major playground site remodeling, Kish said.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Scoot the chutes: Plans to move Prairie Creek Park's playground are in the design stages. The playground will also be expanded to about 900 square feet.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Courts combined: Prairie Creek's new main playground will be moved south of its current location to an area near two existing tennis courts. The remodeling will remove one of the tennis courts and that space used for a new 900-square-foot playground.
Discussion
One Vigo park at a time
Prairie Creek next priority for renovation
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