A journey to build an inclusive and accessible playground in Amboy for all children took its first step on April 13.

“All kids can play,” Roger Wittenauer, treasurer of the Amboy Lions Club and one of the initial members of the Lions Club Playground Committee, told the audience at the kick-off meeting for the “Play for All: Amboy Lions Club Inclusive Playground Initiative.” The other members of the committee are Mary Mays, Bruce Setchell and Dave Didier.

The 8,700-square-foot, accessible and inclusive playground will provide all the traditional playground toys, including swings, climbing toys, a slide and a seesaw.

“All kids can play together on this equipment,” Wittenauer said.

What the project will not include is a splash pad.

“I just want to make it perfectly clear – the Lions Club is not putting in a splash pad. I get questions and comments on Facebook every time we post something about the park,” Wittenauer said, adding that the splash pad would be a project undertaken by the city of Amboy.

The playground will feature a poured rubber surface that is even across the entire park, but poured in varying thicknesses for each structure or toy. The playground toys themselves are designed to be accessible to children with a wide range of physical and developmental abilities and needs.

“An all-inclusive playground is a play space designed so children of all abilities can play together safely and comfortably,” Wittenauer said.

Wittenauer said the target fundraising goal for the playground is $705,000. Wittenauer said the committee filed and was approved to be a 501(c)(3) foundation, the Amboy Lions Club Foundation, so that donations for the park will be tax-deductible for donors. The Lions Club International Foundation has a one-time matching grant program for special projects of up to $150,000, and Wittenauer said raising at least $150,000 to put toward that grant is an immediate goal.

The playground project could be completed in phases, as fundraising allows. The timeline that Wittenauer presented for completing the entire project is estimated at 17 months, from kickoff through fundraising, purchase of equipment and installation.

Wittenauer said the committee had applied for four grants and is waiting to hear back on that funding.

One option for the project is to install the playground in sections.

“We can start with one or two phases and put in a section and add to it when we get more money. We probably will not have this whole thing done at one time unless we have all the money in the next year or so,” Barb Harrison, Amboy resident and businesswoman, said.

Wittenauer said a similar playground in Coal City, the Hope Helps All Inclusive Playground at Lions Park, was installed in phases.

“They put a third of theirs in first, and after people saw that, the money came in easier and faster. If we don’t get a lot of the money right away, there’s no reason we can’t start and then add on as we get the rest of the funding,” Wittenauer said.

Wittenauer said the committee welcomes input and help from the public.

Splash pad in the future?

Amboy’s mayor and the Amboy City Council know that a splash pad, likely at the former Amboy Junior High School site, is a popular idea.

“We’d like to put one in. People are very interested in having a splash pad, and we are trying everything we can to get funding for one. I’d like to see it,” Amboy Mayor Frank Stenzel said.

Several people asked about the installation of a splash pad during the playground meeting.

Wittenauer said the Lions Club is not installing a splash pad.

“I am not installing a splash pad. That is a city project,” Wittenauer said.

Stenzel said the city has resubmitted an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

“We have been turned down a couple of times. We redid it and resubmitted it, and we’re waiting to hear back, so it could take a couple of months before we hear anything,” Stenzel said.

He said that installing a splash pad, including the underground water system, could cost more than $300,000.