“It’s exciting. This was a big dream of mine that finally became real.”
That’s what West Liberty City Park Department Director Nick Heath had to say after he witnessed at least two dozen youngsters race onto the new $225,000 deluxe playground at Kimberly Park Thursday noon.
“This is the best park ever,” said one little boy enjoying the giant slide area.
That was pretty much the feeling of all the smiling faces that raced to be among the first to try out the new equipment that was set up for “kids of all ages,” replacing a playground that had been in the park for decades.
Heath said although not everything is complete with the playground, the main area was ready for kids to exploit after the rubberized flooring was installed along with some last-minute finish work. “I didn’t want them to have to wait any longer,” he said.
Heath said creating the playground was one of his main goals when he came into his role as director seven years ago, noting there is still a lot of finish work to be done including the installation of benches around the playground, excavation dirt work around the playground, some cement work and the installation of bricks provided for donors to the playground.
“This is a huge upgrade from what was here before,” he said. “It’s something West Liberty needed badly.”
An area on the north side which will host some of the salvageable play equipment in the former playground area, is also hoped to be finished by late this week, noting a cement border needs to be poured by All-American Concrete of West Liberty before the city hauls in mulch. He also said the city will need to build some kind of a retaining wall on the south and west sides of the playground because of the elevation of the playground construction.
He said making sure the rubberized surface under the playground didn’t get damaged was crucial, noting members of his department stood watch on Aug. 12 from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next morning following the Aug. 10 storm to make sure no one walked on the surface. It was said the only trespasser was a real fox around midnight
Heath said the park district isn’t done making improvements to city parks, noting there’s a lot more work to be accomplished, hoping to jump next to Friendship Park on the south side of the city, which had been budgeted for a $25,000 upgrade this year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heath said the city and park department will host an official grand opening after everything is complete, but was happy with the fact West Liberty State Bank and Casey’s General Store donated popsicles and cookies for children on the opening day.
Early reviews were great among parents and adults watching the children try out the six new play areas. Jill Page, who brought eight youngsters to the playground Thursday noon as part of the West Liberty Summer School program, said her class has been watching progress on the playground all summer. “I’m absolutely impressed,” said Page, calling the new playground “an asset to the community."
Maya Garrido, who was also watching some youngsters, said there was a lot of things for kids to do in the playground, impressed with the variety of options for youngsters..
“It’s great for fostering their imagination,” she said, noting some youngsters were creating “obstacle courses” and other challenges.