The new playground equipment at Ker Park recently finished its installation and families have been bringing kids by for almost a month now.
On Tuesday afternoon, city officials, along with members of the Ker family and the companies behind the new equipment and updates to the park got together to hold a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony.
Warsaw Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer talked about the history behind Ker Park, starting in 1989 when the land was purchased by Jessie Ker and Dalton Industries, who then donated the land to the city of Warsaw, which was in memory of Jessie’s late husband Charles H. Ker, who was a former president of Dalton.
Sidewalks and the first pieces of playground equipment were put in the park in 1994, and then studies to upgrade the equipment was done in 2016.
Late this spring, the new playground equipment now at Ker Park was complete, along with a smaller playground in the back that is designed for ages two to five, which was donated by Connie Ker and family.
The city received a matching grant on the big playground equipment piece from Sinclair Recreation, so the Parks Department spent $50,000 and got $100,000 in playground equipment. Drinking fountains at the park were donated by Indiana American Water.
The Business Development Manager from GameTime, Ron Blake, presented Plummer with a plaque designating Ker Park as a National Demonstration Site as it implements the principles of play on design, which Blake described as the “best practices to promote physical activity through play while encouraging your children natural progression of skill development through the movement of safe risk-taking through the years of their growth.”
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer spoke towards the end of the ceremony thanking Plummer and the parks department for their hard work on finishing the updates to the park. “This is what happens when someone mentions stewards of our money, when we plan, when we look forward, when we have our community input to decide what the community wants, what they need. Along this trail system that is connecting our communities, this is just an asset that goes beyond what I thought it was going to be.”
Those visiting Ker Park are encouraged to take part in a survey, which can be found by scanning a QR code on a sign near the entrance to the park to talk about their experiences with the park.
