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Kids' Park Hits Jackpot! | |
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Sizable grant awarded to wheelchair-accessible parkLafayette News - December 8, 2004
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Organizers of Kids' Park Lafayette have hit it big.
They learned last week that a $100,000 grant they requested from Great Outdoors Colorado was approved. The money comes from a state trust fund of Colorado Lottery proceeds. It is the single largest sum ever received by Kids' Park. "I'm ecstatic," said Jay Ruggeri, a Kids' Park co-chairperson. "This dream is going to become a reality." Kids' Park Lafayette, under construction on the grounds of Lafayette Elementary School, is billed as the only wheelchair-accessible playground in Boulder County. It is designed so that children with disabilities can enjoy it just as much as their peers. Phase I of construction, completed in 2002, resulted in play structures, swings and other familiar playground features. Phase II, which is currently under construction, will involve more unusual features, such as outdoor musical instruments, a dinosaur-skeleton replica and, most notably, a botanic garden. Ruggeri said the second phase is expected to cost at least $313,500. The $100,000 GOCO grant will help Kids' Park organizers win contributions from other sources, Ruggeri said. "It helps validate our mission," he said. The grant was in fact issued to the City of Lafayette, which will direct the funds through the Boulder Valley School District. Lafayette City Administrator Gary Klaphake helped write the grant proposal, but he said most of the credit belongs to Kids' Park volunteer Carla Lutz. "Clearly, clearly the work was done by Carla Lutz. She's the hero on this," Klaphake said. "Without her it wouldn't have happened." The GOCO fund, sanctioned since 1994 by the Colorado Constitution, is supported solely by the Colorado Lottery. It is intended to "preserve, protect, and enhance Colorado's wildlife, parks, rivers, trails, and open spaces." |
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