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Work on new park to begin in spring

The Herald-Dispatch - 2/20/2018

HUNTINGTON - Build it, and they will come play.

And the rest of the money will appear.

That is the hope of the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District, which is going to break ground this spring to build Phase One of the St. Clouds All Inclusive Playground.

The Park District has raised $405,000 of the $1.2 million needed for the destination type playground, which will have equipment and features that serve disabled children and children with autism. The funds raised will cover the $330,000 to $350,000 cost for the first phase and leave the district with matching money left over to aggressively start to raise funds for the next phase, said Park District Executive Director Kevin Brady.

Brady, who has overseen the building of eight new Park District playgrounds in the past five years, said he has never been more excited to get a playground built. He said park officials hope to break ground mid-May to early June and to get this national demonstration site playground started.

"I really believe when people see that it is more than plans and a dream and pretty pictures and a nice video, they will jump on board and see the tremendous need that we have in the area," Brady said.

That need is evident in statistics that show West Virginia having about 15.7 percent (38,771) of the 246,963 students enrolled in school (between ages 6 and 21) as having a disability. That is compared to 12.9 nationally, according to the IDEA 2011 Child Count statistics.

The St. Clouds playground will be built by GameTime, a PlayCore company, and Cunningham Recreation, which supplies GameTime equipment. The playground will be wheelchair accessible and has multiple places for kids to slide, swing, twirl and climb.

Brady, who kicked off the announcement for the fundraising campaign in June 2016, said they now have the playground plotted out in four phases.

"I am hoping that Phase One would be so well received and that it would cause the need for a restroom facility there and that would be Phase 2. Then we would come back and put in more playground equipment, which would be Phase 3. And then suddenly the parking lot would be full, the restrooms will be used and then we would need to expand the parking lot, and put in more playground equipment, which would be Phase 4."

Brady said they've been seeking a wide range of funding from grants to state and Appalachian Regional Commission funding to help see this destination playground built.

"This is built for people within a radius of about 200 miles," Brady said. "If you had a child that was severely disabled you would drive to the ends of the Earth to make that kid happy and to do things that were challenging and good socialization ... all of the things a kid can learn by going to this kind of play facility."

In a larger picture, Brady said this kind of investment into the West End goes hand in hand with the major developments already happening in that area from Coalfield Development's West Edge facility, the city's continued River to Rail revitalization, and other development and growth in Old Central City such as the continued success as The Wild Ramp.

"We want to give people the confidence that it is going to happen," Brady said. "We aren't just going to raise money for three years. We are serious, and we think this fits right in with the River to Rails project. We are hoping that this becomes an anchor point for what we all want the west end community to become."

Brady said one of the unique things about the playground is that it is also specifically built to make play accessible for autistic children who have a range or spectrum of sensory issues.

"Autistic children, because they are typically shy in an environment with a lot of noise and activity, we have cozy corners, where they can go in and look out, until they get comfortable with their surroundings or until some little kid comes over and says I'll play with you - that is really what all-inclusion is all about," Brady said.

Brady said he thinks building this colorful and splashy first phase will really showcase what all-inclusive playgrounds look like and how they differ from just ADA (or American Disabilities Act) compliant playgrounds.

"We've built eight new playgrounds and they are all ADA accessible and meet or exceed ADA requirements, but ADA requirements are that you have access to the playground and have a transfer station that has two bars on it and you can drag yourself around to the different activities," he said.

Brady said the Park District has already begun adding all-inclusive equipment at some of its parks from a new piece the SwayFun at Harris Riverfront Park, to the new playground at Ritter Park, which was just nominated for a national award. Across the Tri-State, both Barboursville and Hurricane are putting all inclusive playgrounds in and Cabell County Schools has popped in some all-inclusive pieces into Highlawn Elementary and Davis Creek Elementary, with plans to add similar ones to other elementary schools in the system.

"It is an incredible project that I will be very, very proud of when we are done," Brady said. "I am anxious to see these kids and their families out there having fun." You think about what we have really done for the disabled kids, we've cut curbs for them and have tried to make things accessible, but what have we done that is entertaining and socially interactive and good for physical health? We haven't done anything like this and it is time."

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