New Northside Park is Coming in September

How often do kids get a chance to help develop their own city playground?  That opportunity is available for brand new playground equipment for the Northside Park, due to the collaboration among the City of Lamar and LiveWell Prowers County, KaBOOM and The Colorado Health Foundation.   

Northside Park during Cinco De Mayo 2012

Emily Nieschburg of LiveWell Prowers County said representatives will be on hand for what’s called Design Day, beginning at 5pm, Tuesday, July 30 at the Lamar Community Building.  Kids will have an opportunity to present their ideas of what they’d like to see at the park and parents and others will have their buy-in at 6pm.  A tour of the park site is set for 4pm. 

Now that the funding process is complete, the day for equipment set up is September 14.  It will be an all day event with volunteers handling the construction chores at the Northside Park which will be prepared in advance for the construction.  By the end of the day, kids will have a brand new playground to use for years to come. 

Nieschburg added that members of the state philanthropy group, El Pomar and LiveWell Colorado will also attend the Design Day event.  She said this will allow them a chance to get a firsthand look at the community and learn about some of the needs for continued health-oriented exercise projects and the community’s commitment to meeting those challenges.  KaBOOM is a national organization that helps develop funding for playgrounds around the country, once a community has shown a degree of commitment to helping develop a healthier lifestyle for its residents.  The estimated cost of the grant is $90,000 and some in-kind contributions for the city are included in the project.

By Russ Baldwin