MOUNT GILEAD — Village Administrator Dan Rogers said the new Mount Gilead playground on Cherry Street has been a magnet for children and their parents the last couple of weeks.
Children have been having a blast trying out the new swings, slides and climbing wall that were finished just a few weeks ago. On Aug. 8 the 20-year-old Fort Gilead playground on the site was torn down. Rogers said it had been deteriorating the last few years and had gotten splinters and many broken parts.
He said one of the village day care centers brought a bus load of children to try out the new equipment.
One mom told Rogers that she liked the fact that the new playground area was fenced in so children wouldn’t run out on the street. Parents also appreciate the new restrooms that were put up next to the playground area. They will be maintained by the village.
Improvements for the playground began in 2016 for the restrooms with a CDBG grant through the county development office. They paid for more than half of the restroom cost of $132,824. The grant covered $70,000 with the village portion at $62,824.
Rogers said that grants have also helped in purchasing and setting up the new playground equipment. The ODNR/Nature Grant was for $14,496.00. The Kiwanis Foundation Grant was $5,000 and the local Kiwanis Club is giving $5,000 to be paid over five years. Diana Keplinger helped Rogers apply for the grants through the club’s foundation.
The total cost for the playground was $95,613, with grants totaling $24,496 and the village contribution was $71,117.
Rogers said the next step in improvement is planning the landscaping. Tim Clapper and Aron Frazier are working on that. Rogers is also looking forward to having a pavilion or gazebo on the site for evening entertainment.
Kim Porter was sad to see the Fort Gilead playground be torn down and took some photos. It was a major community project 20 years ago and many people in the village contributed to the building project.
“It was sad to see them tear it down,” Porter said. “But the new playground equipment will be great for the kids. They’re already enjoying it.”
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