Lookout Park in Marietta opens new playground
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MARIETTA -- Lookout Park now looks brand new.
"Can you believe the difference?" asked Tanner Huffman, public facilities supervisor for the city of Marietta, on Wednesday. "We tore out that old, dilapidated, horrendous junk playground equipment and only just finished the mulch this morning."
Four new playground pieces now sit just behind the basketball court and just below the tennis courts at Lookout Park, replacing equipment that was well past its prime.
Lookout Park is located at 801 Lancaster St. on Harmar Hill in Marietta.
"I brought my kids who are (now) in their 30s here when they were kids," said 4th Ward Councilman Tom Vukovic. "That old playground was what they played on."
The new playground opened Wednesday with a ribbon cutting and shrieks of laughter from children.
Now with bright new colors, updated swings, a new climbing dome and a kinetic twirl children can play while parents linger in the shade, shoot hoops or exchange volleys on the tennis courts, which were resurfaced and painted for $55,904 in 2015 through similar grant funding.
"Next I'm going to repaint the basketball poles and we're working on putting up a pavilion up here and finishing the exercise path," said Huffman. "It's perfect timing for the weather, now that it cools off families can come up here... I have a 3- and 5-year-old and I want to run them out here."
Carrie Ankrom, president of the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce, said the park adds to the assets that draw families to communities.
"It's a community builder," she said. "The more opportunities for families to come together and enjoy their children the more people are drawn to the area."
Safety-Service Director Jonathan Hupp said the park could not have been completed without not only the teamwork of city administration, but also the public-private partnerships the city fosters.
"Jack Haessly, of Haessly Hardwood, donated the mulch, 'Nature's Cushion' which is specifically made for kids playgrounds," Hupp said. "And our volunteers like Holly Hamrick, the Harmar Neighborhood Watch, namely Ken Strahler, Terry Welch and Pat Dickinson all played a part in putting this together in addition to the grant writing in our development department."
Hupp also noted the hard work of public facilities employees Jake Brown and Justin Dennis, who work under Huffman and took it upon themselves to make sure the project was completed before the new school year.
In total the project cost $40,026, funded in part by a Ohio Department of Natural Resources Nature Works grant totaling $30,013 and matched with in-kind labor from the city at $10,013.
Both Huffman and Hupp said additional benches, a picnic table and a trash bin are also coming to the park soon.
"And the city is looking for donations of railroad ties to surround the playground with," added Hupp.