On Saturday, July 7, residents near Fisher Park at 3800 Fisher St. will be able to give their opinions on the redesign for the new playground at the park.
The Unified Government is receiving a $30,000 grant for redeveloping the park’s play space from the Meet Me at the Park grant program, a part of the National Recreation and Park Association and Disney.
The event is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. July 7 at Fisher Park, which is near 39th and Springfield.
The UG is a partner in the park’s renovation, with $15,000 in in-kind donations, along with the Wyandotte County Parks Foundation, which is providing $10,000, and the Neighborhood Rising Fund, which is providing $3,000. The Rosedale Development Association is also making in-kind contributions to the project. It is a $60,000 total project.
According to Alissa Workman, Rosedale Development Association development and events coordinator, neighbors in the area around Fisher Park contacted RDA last fall to ask about helping them raise funds to repair the playground.
“It’s definitely a partnership project that the community, the neighborhood, initiated,” Workman said. “It’s exciting for us to do this for the neighborhood.”
The park, near the University of Kansas Health Systems campus, is a smaller park where the Rozarks Nature Trail, a walking trail, begins, she said. It is well used by area residents, she added.
The playground had been slowly aging, parts were broken, and one slide was removed completely, she said.
“We started in January and February looking at different options we would have to create a partnership in renovation,” Workman said.
The RDA developed a grant application for the residents.
Workman said this grant makes a difference because the neighborhood was able to identify a need, reach out to the RDA and work together with different groups to get the project going.
“It builds investment in the area,” she said. “It will increase their investment in the neighborhood and the project itself.”
Fisher Park will help youth and adults – green spaces where people can go is really important to the health of the neighborhood as a whole, she said.
The residents wanted to make sure Fisher Park had an inclusive playground, Workman said.
“It has components acceptable to those with mobility issues, to children who mght have sensory or other issues,” she said. It will be a space where children of all ages and abilities feel comfortable.
During the July 7 meeting, possible playground designs will be displayed and the community will be asked for their comments about the designs, Workman said.