Fireman's Park playground complex gets more funding
New playground equipment for Fireman's Park may be installed one of these days.
It's been nearly one year since Libby City Council approved using $75,000 from its community development fund to upgrade new playground equipment at the park.
The equipment was purchased from North Dakota-based Grondahl Recreation, but it has set in storage since last year.
Then, Councilor Zach McNew hoped the equipment would be installed by a contractor willing to donate their time and effort.
But that didn't come to fruition and now other donations are making it possible for additions to the planned equipment that will make it more inclusive for handicapped and disabled children.
A new donation from the LOR Foundation will be paired with already planned resources from private donors and the Rotary Club of Kootenai Valley, the Zero to Five organization and the city's funds to create a more comprehensive playground complex.
The City of Libby has been working with Larry Grondahl of Grondahl Recreation, Zero to Five Lincoln County and LOR on Fireman’s Park Playground equipment, City Administrator Sammuel Sikes said on Feb. 6 at the Libby City Council meeting.
“Originally Zero to Five wanted a small playground set that, even with the $15,000 city grant, it couldn’t afford,” Sikes said.
LOR will be purchasing the Universal Brava swing that is compatible with disabled and challenged children, Sikes said. The LOR foundation has not yet officially approved the funding but they will soon, according to Sikes.
“With the LOR Foundation stepping up to help with Fireman’s Park on behalf of Zero to Five, we are able to look into the original playground set that Zero to Five desired in the first place without going over budget,” Sikes said.
Sikes said Grondahl currently has the complete Fireman’s Park update in design and a proposal should be available in the next three weeks. Sikes will be working with Zero to Five and LOR once the proposal is completed to schedule the construction.
Fireman’s Park has a splash-zone water park that is popular with kids in the summer. There is also a climbing web, teeter totter and a fire truck kids can sit in and pretend they’re driving. There are tires for kids to play on which may be relocated to accommodate the new playground.
The Brava Universal swing for handicapped children has handles on the inside so children can swing back and forth, Sikes said in a recent interview.
Libby is still planning to install the big playground the city planned out last year. The set is in storage right now waiting to be built next summer, Sikes said.
As soon as the LOR Foundation signs off on the equipment, the city council will take a look at the project and schedule it to be built this spring, Sikes said.
The city has other plans for the area as well as the Zero to Five playground. There will be two memorial swings in the park in honor of Caral Hilliard, who died in 2022, and her son, Chance, who died in 2018.
The Zero to Five playground will have Daisy Spinners “for little kids to lay their chest on and spin around,” Sikes said.
There will also be a Swift Twist, which is similar to the Daisy Spinners but larger and with a central pole.
There will be only two benches surrounding the playgrounds for now, but after the initial installation is done Sikes said he is planning more fundraising or donations in order to install more benches.
“What I want to do is have a safety circle,” Sikes said, of his plan to allow parents to watch children from the entire circumference of the playground. “It's just safer when you have all the parents looking in at all the kids.”