By Kim Lewicki, Highlands Newspaper
An anonymous donation of $50,000 given to upgrade the Highlands Rec Park playground is now seed money for a much bigger project.
A Playground Committee has been meeting over the last few months and at Thursday’s Town Board meeting, committee members Commissioner Brian Stiehler and soon-to-be commissioner Jeff Weller presented a plan for an extensive and drastically improved playground.
The playground will be for children up to 12-years-old and instead of just replacing components and adding new ones, what is envisioned is an all-inclusive, nature-themed playground accessible to children at all levels of ability. The plan is to replace and expand the playground area from its current location down to the tennis courts and situated near the skate park.
The playground will be constructed with the topography of the land in mind – for instance, a roller slide is envisioned for the hilly area – with different areas designated for ages 2-5 and 5-12. The committee has enlisted the help of Carolina Parks and Play that will ultimately design the space with a general contractor hired and sub-contractors used to pour and construct the groundwork and footprint on which components will be affixed.
Though Stiehler and Weller were only asking for a “go-ahead” from the Town Board, the Playground Committee plans to ask for funding from both the town and the county with a fundraising campaign taking care of the rest.
If all goes as planned the playground could be a reality in 2025. Carolina Parks and Play’s bid for the project is $1.65 million.
“That quote is good for 30 days but to hold that price, we’d have to place the order,” said Stiehler.” I suspect there will be a small percentage increase by the time we are ready to do that. While this is a quote, I’ve been treating this more as guide to know what we realistically need to raise.”
Current playground at the Highlands Rec Park.
At a recent Playground Committee meeting, the group agreed to get a little more money or commitments from the community before officially asking the county and the town for funding.
“Now that we know what we would like to see, we are looking at fundraising to start the spring of 2024,” said Stiehler. “And then hopefully, depending on how fundraising goes, we can pull the trigger on construction the fall of 2024 with a completion date sometime in 2025.”
Stiehler and Weller said they have no idea how long it will take to get the components – spinners, slides, swings, sensory and tactile play elements – so that will determine an opening date as well.
The Town Board unanimously approved the project and encouraged the committee to continue its plans.
Anyone interested in helping out financially is encouraged to contact Commissioner Stiehler at bstiehler@highlandscountryclub.com or Jeff Weller at jeff@ summitarchitecturepa.com.