Despite a change of guard at the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department with the retirement of longtime director Lynn Johnson, plans for building inclusive playgrounds are moving forward.
On Monday, the City Council authorized parks officials to apply for a $400,000 grant from the National Park Service to help pay for the playgrounds.
The grant requires a 50% match, that the land remain public and a resolution from the council assuring both those things will happen, said JJ Yost, parks department planning and facilities manager. The state Game and Parks Commission manages the federal grants, so the application goes to that department, which makes recommendations to the National Park Service.
The grant and match by the city would pay the roughly $800,000 it would cost to build the city’s first modern and all-inclusive playground at Mahoney Park in northeast Lincoln.
That group’s efforts to get an all-inclusive playground in the city turned into a plan to build four inclusive playgrounds within 5 miles of every Lincoln resident by 2038. City officials hope the first playground at Mahoney Park will be finished by 2024.
The $400,000 match by the city will include $300,000 already set aside in the city’s capital improvement plan, and $100,000 in private donations.
Martinez is eager to get going in earnest on fundraising, which has been delayed by the administration changes at the Parks and Recreation Department.Â
Maggie Stuckey-Ross, who was the head of the city parks foundation in charge of the fundraising efforts, was named director of the department after Johnson retired.
The city is in the process of hiring a new foundation director, which Yost said should happen soon. Then the foundation will focus on fundraising for the playgrounds, he said.
Martinez hopes that’s soon.
“The community is excited about this and wants to see it get going,†she said. “We have multiple entities interested in helping but we’re at a standstill now.â€
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Beckett Olson, 6, plays with his father, Cameron, at Antelope Park in August 2021. The Olsons have worked with others to get an all-inclusive playground for Beckett and other children with a variety of special needs.