PORT ANGELES — The city of Port Angeles has received a $39,627 grant to complete the Shane Park playground project.
A state-of-the-art play set will be installed later this year at the west Port Angeles park between Sixth and Eighth streets and G and E streets.
The wheelchair-accessible playground will feature several slides, towers, a climbing wall, swings and an upside-down merry-go-round. Rubble safety tiles will be placed around the new equipment.
The state Recreation and Conservation Office announced the awarding of the grant, along with several others statewide, on Tuesday.
The money for the grant came from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, the state office said.
“We’ve been holding our breath for two weeks over this [grant], and it’s fantastic,” said an elated Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd.
“I thank Corey Delikat [city parks and streets superintendent] for all his hard work. And Janet Young is my hero.”
Young, president of the Shane Park Playground Committee, spearheaded a community fundraising campaign that raised more than $70,000 over the past year-and-a-half.
The committee held more than a dozen fundraisers, including community meals, bowling parties, dice games, a pickleball marathon and a salmon dinner featuring renowned Jamestown S’Klallam storyteller Elaine Grinnell last month.
Donations for the park were solicited through the Port Angeles Kiwanis Club.
Kidd thanked the committee members and “every single person” who donated.
“The whole community got behind the park and Janet’s vision,” Kidd said.
“The community spirit was amazing.”
The city will contribute $100,546 in equipment and labor, according to the grant announcement.
“We will have a fabulous playground for the next couple of generations,” Kidd said.
“I couldn’t be happier, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Crews already have excavated the 6,000-square-foot site, located just east of the public restrooms in the middle of the park.
Andersen & Sons Gravel donated material for the foundation and hauled it to the site.
Ken Reandeau Excavating helped the city get the area prepped for the first pour around the perimeter, Delikat has said.
The disassembled playground equipment arrived in early June.
It is being kept in a city storage area.
The play set will be installed in two phases in the late summer or “early fall for sure,” Delikat said in a text message.
Delikat is on vacation this week and could not receive or place calls on his BlackBerry.
Phase 1 will include slides, towers, monkey bars and a climbing wall.
Phase 2 will be the swing set and upside-down merry-go-round, called a “Neutron Spinner.”
The new play set will dwarf the existing playground equipment, which consists of a small yellow slide.
The park is named after Young’s late son, Shane Fowler, who died at the age of 9 when the park was being built in 1973.
The boy was playing on a concrete ring that was standing upright when it fell on top of him.
Young has longed for a decent playground at her neighborhood park because she often sees children who have nothing to do while their parents are playing softball.
Children were seen riding bicycles near the fenced-off site of the future playground as softball games were in progress Wednesday evening.
Young was not immediately available for comment Thursday.
“I’m so happy for our community that once again, we stepped up to make this an even greater place to live,” Kidd said.
“Now we can stop and say, ‘Well done.’”
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
