Matthew Fogle
Saturday, May 17, 2014

Two playgrounds in Bardstown are set to get an upgrade soon. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet has announced that $404,599 in grant funding has been awarded statewide for one landscaping improvement and 39 playground projects.  Those projects include upgrades to the Jones Avenue Park on the corner of West Broadway Avenue and the small playground next to the Don Harned baseball field – a grant totaling $24,131.

“We’re very excited about this grant,” said Donna Paschal, director of the Bardstown-Nelson County Parks & Recreation Department, which oversees both playgrounds.  “This is really a great opportunity for us.”

The main focus for the grant is to provide crumb rubber, made from recycled scrap tires, to the playground area to enhance durability and safety.

“We now have engineered wood fiber on all of our playgrounds, which is a very acceptable safety surfacing,” Paschal said.  The crumb rubber, however, is a step up according to Paschal.

“The crumb rubber doesn’t decompose, it doesn’t have any splinters, it’s not dirty, it’s non-staining, non-abrasive,” Paschal said. “It’s going to be a much more pleasant safe surface for kids to play on, and it’s going to be colored which is going to be more aesthetically pleasing.”

The grant is made possible by the Waste Tire Trust Fund, established by the 1998 Kentucky General Assembly to receive a $1 fee from each retail sale of a new tire in the state. The fund manages approximately 4 million scrap tires generated in Kentucky each year and helps develop markets for recycled tire products.

Paschal said that the local recreation department will contribute in funding as well.

“There’s a 25 percent match,” she said, “which we will match in labor, equipment, the gravel that we’ll need, and the geo-textile fabric that we’ll need.”

With the grant and the match combined, the cost will total over $30,000 for both projects.

Paschal added that while they have the labor, the recreation department will take the opportunity to do a few more improvements, such as adding two new playground pieces and handicapped accessibility. Ramps will be installed along with some other components that are ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) acceptable.

Finally, according to Paschal, people will see a marked improvement in both parks regardless of age.

“We’ve been making progress on our playgrounds,” she said. “I think parents and children will thoroughly enjoy it.”

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