Friday, April 25, 2003
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Friday, April 25, 2003 |
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Fundraising begins for final phase of All Children's Playground
Fundraising for the third and final phase of the Luther T. Holt Memorial All Children's Playground is underway, and the effort has received a boost from two prominent local men. Joel Cowan and Tate Godfrey have agreed to serve as honorary co-chairs of the fundraising committee for this final push to complete the playground. Cowan was the city's first mayor back in 1959, and is known as the "Father of Peachtree City." As a young college student, he was hired by investor and visionary Pete Knox to manage the land that would eventually become Peachtree City. Godfrey has been the honorary chair of the playground committee since it began in early 2000. He was then with Pathways communities, Peachtree City's prime developer, and is now with Group VI. He is currently chairman of the Peachtree City Development Authority and has served as president of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce. "We are very grateful to both of these well-known community leaders for accepting our request to help us with our final phase," said Colleen Sugar, who has been at the helm of the committee since its inception. "We believe having their support will open doors and garner the support we need to reach our goal." The goal for Phase III of the playground has changed significantly from its original $100,000 to $50,000. The reduction has a practical purpose. "We reduced the budget for the final phase due to space constraints on site at Picnic Park," said Randy Gaddo, the city's director of leisure services. "The playground is taking up more space than we had originally envisioned, so we are reducing the scope of the final phase." Gaddo explained that the final phase will consist of swings and a tot lot area for younger children. It will contain the same rubberized surface as the rest of the playground, and a ramp system that enables children of any physical ability to play on the entire structure. He added that the reduction would also retain more of a large grassed area between the playground and Lake Peachtree. "That open field is used by people for passive recreation, and we didn't want to encroach any further than we have into it," Gaddo said. The park has become a very popular place for families and small community groups to have picnics. It provides a scenic lakeside setting, has a picnic shelter, electricity and of course, the playground. The city plans to run a water line soon to add a fountain. The All Children's Playground was envisioned, designed and built to allow children of any physical ability to get to every piece of play equipment. A system of accessible ramps and bridges connects the entire structure. A special rubberized surface allows wheelchairs or walkers to be easily used. It was built after local resident Colleen Sugar wrote a letter to the city's leisure services director asking why the city didn't have any accessible playgrounds for her physically challenged son, Jon, to play on. This led to the formation of the Playground Committee under the Recreation Commission, with Colleen as the chairperson. $100,000 was raised to build the first two phases of the playground, and about $10,000 is raised so far towards Phase III. Those interested in making donations or in assisting in the final phase may contact the Recreation Department at 770-631-2542 for further information.
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