Big Finish for Rotary Playground This Weekend

With only one day left until the ribbon cutting, volunteers are still busy putting the pieces together at the Paducah Rotary Playground.

Volunteers are still needed Saturday afternoon, and all day Sunday to complete the work. There's no need to sign up online any longer, just come to the site and you'll be given a task. People with carpentry, building or framing skills are definitely welcome, as well as anyone who can handle a rake, shovel or wheelbarrow, carry a board or pass out water.
 
Then on Sunday at 5 p.m., everyone is invited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for the playground.

To prepare for the week-long building project, the City of Paducah prepared the site and Paducah Power System dug 182 holes for the structures. To make this park a reality, the Rotary Club of Paducah organized 900 4-hour volunteer shifts all week.  

The playground is the first development of the larger Fountain Avenue Health Park. The project will ultimately take in the large open space from 13th to 14th Street, and from Madison to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in the Fountain Avenue neighborhood.
 
Planning began last year, including getting input from local children, who told construction consultants Play By Design what features they wanted for the 4000-square foot playground.
 
In addition to the playground, the first phase of the outdoor health park will include grading a free play field, the construction of a 1/3 mile walking trail, the expansion of the community garden, and the installation of outdoor fitness equipment.  The first phase is expected to go out to bid this summer.

The City of Paducah is creating the Fountain Avenue Health Park with the theme of healthy living.  The City has partnered with the Purchase Area Connections for Health, United Way of Paducah-McCracken County, Baptist Health Paducah, Lourdes Hospital, and the Purchase District Health Department.  A grant award to the City from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky is helping with the park’s cost.  The Paducah School System will use the park and the program called CATCH, Coordinated Approach to Child Health, to educate children on the benefits of healthy decisions and healthy lifestyles.
 
The revitalization of the Fountain Avenue Neighborhood began in earnest when the Paducah Board of Commissioners adopted the plan in April 2007, which called for ten new or rehabilitated structures per year for a period of ten years.  To date, 35 new homes have been built and dozens of the original neighborhood homes have undergone major rehabilitation.  More than 360 permits have been issued in the neighborhood for work on more than 200 different addresses.  Approximately $12.4 million in public and private funds have been invested into the neighborhood’s housing since 2007.   There are 25 lots and eight homes available for renovation.

For more information about the Paducah Rotary Playground and how you can purchase a commemorative picket for the fence surrounding the playground, visit www.paducahrotaryplayground.com.  For more information about the Fountain Avenue Neighborhood Revitalization, visit www.fountainave.com.