Come Play at the Lake playground project subject of first session
In light of recent tough times and with community members experiencing difficulty receiving in-person assistance during pandemic-related office closures, the Logan County Commissioners are renewing a commitment to citizen access to their local government, with twice weekly open forum sessions hosted at their 117 E. Columbus Ave. office.
Individuals can stop by in-person from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays to speak with Commissioners Paul Benedetti, Mark Robinson and Joe Antram about county issues and concerns, with no appointment needed.
Thursday morning, Logan County Board of Developmental Disabilities Superintendent Saul Bauer stopped by the first open forum to present to the commission updates to the Come Play at the Lake accessible playground that is currently taking shape at Fox Island.
The commissioners encourage community residents to participate in the upcoming open forum days.
“Citizen’s participation is critical to the success of local government,” Benedetti said during the first session Thursday.
“Open meetings and the transparency of your government is our number one goal in helping our citizens understanding how services are delivered to our community,” Robinson said.
“We look forward to hearing and responding to the needs of our community,” Antram said.
Related to the inclusive playground project, Bauer related that 30 truck loads of dirt recently have been delivered to the site, and installation of the playground equipment will begin in the next month. Pending construction or weather delays, the park could potentially open by the end of July.
“We’ve had some weather delays this year, but we’re happy to be able to work on site now,” he said. “This is another wonderful community effort that follows the Come Play at the Peak playground project at Mary Rutan Park that opened in the fall of 2019.”
Bauer said the ILDC has been an instrumental partner in helping to plan and conduct fundraisers for the Come Play at the Lake playground.
The total cost of the playground is estimated at $322,000, with the LCBDD Foundation committing $150,000 to the effort, which has been raised through a variety of fundraisers and personal donations, including the organization’s annual chicken dinners, flower sales and charity basketball games.
Approximately $50,000 in state capital improvement funds also will assist in funding the playground as well, Bauer said.
In addition, the superintendent expressed appreciation to area contractors and businesses that have generously donated in-kind services and materials to both playground projects, noting that without this assistance, the playgrounds would cost approximately $450,000 each to install.
The Logan County Commission also noted their top priorities for the county in 2021 include: Public Safety, in supporting COVID-19 first responders and health district initiatives; Infrastructure, expanding rural broadband and expansion and upgrades to public sewer service to Lewistown, Orchard and Wolfe Islands; Transparency, upgrading website for remote public access to county services; and Economic Development, positioning Logan County for growth and business attraction.
Each week, the commission conducts session meetings from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays that are open to the public, but they note that public engagement can be limited (outside of the public forum times) when they are participating in various departments’ and agencies’ monthly meetings.