Splash park coming to Wilmington

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WILMINGTON — Work on a Wilmington splash park will begin soon, as Wilmington Parks and Recreation Director Lori Kersey Williams announced that landscape architect Eric Sauer has been hired to begin work on the project.

Williams said it’s “very likely” the splash park will be done sometime in the summer of 2016, with work on a co-located skate park coming, too.

The department is still trying to raise about $60,000 to ultimately meet a budget goal of $450,000, after accounting for $177,000 in grants and $95,000 in pledged commitments. Those pledges include $25,000 that is contingent on the park raising $425,000, what Williams called a “top it off incentive grant.”

Grant funds come from an almost $27,000 NatureWorks grant through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and about $150,000 from the federally funded and ODNR-administered Land and Water Conservation Fund.

“Of course, if we raise more than that, we will build bigger and better features,” wrote Williams in an email.

The skate park will begin construction later, Williams said, adding that the parks will continue to raise funds to prepare for a better skate park than currently budgeted for.

Surveys of Wilmington residents done earlier this year showed that residents want a skate park and a splash park at the David Williams Memorial Park, according to Williams. In the second of two surveys, Williams said 213 of 221 respondents said, “I love the idea” in their completed survey.

Tax-deductible donations may be made directly to City of Wilmington Parks and Recreation at 69 N. South St., Wilmington.

Online, people may donate by going to http://goo.gl/xDFuHo and submitting payment information to Paypal. Williams said those payments will go to the parks by way of Energize Clinton County, which is helping raise funds online.

Both the splash park and skate park will be co-located in the David R. Williams Memorial Park, accessible from Fife Avenue and within the footprint of the current Kroger/Clintmont baseball field.

Reach Nathan Kraatz at 937-382-2574, ext. 2510 or on Twitter @NathanKraatz.

Lori Kersey Williams
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2015/12/web1_Lori-Kersey-Williams.jpgLori Kersey Williams
Williams: Park ‘very likely’ ready in summer 2016

By Nathan Kraatz

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