A new trailhead park being created on Warsaw’s west side is set to include a bike repair station, a pavilion, and either playground equipment or a rock wall.
The Warsaw Rotary Club is teaming up with the city to create the park. It will be just east of where West Center and West Market streets intersect, near the Warsaw Public Works Department.
The future Rotary Park and pavilion is set to be in place by 2019– when the Rotary Club celebrates their centennial year. But, groundbreaking could happen in the next couple of months, according to the Times Union.
The first phase of the park is to do the front (west end of the lot) with the pavilion, with the second phase being the playground equipment (on the east end).
Warsaw Rotary has committed to raising at least $30,000 for the project. Warsaw Assistant Planner Justin Taylor says the Rotary has donated $21,000 to date.
“Obviously, that’s going to go far but it’s not going to create the whole site just yet. We’re going to focus on the pavilion and then some of the site work as far as cleaning up the site and getting some grass down and stuff. And then some of the sidewalks and flatwork we’re going to focus on this year, hopefully,” Taylor tells the Times Union.
“These are still concepts so things could move around a little bit just because of the challenges of the site, there’s grading issues and stuff. So this pavilion could potentially shift locations … I just want people to keep in mind that stuff could shift around as the design gets refined,” he said.
Rotarian Ken Locke says they’ve held different fundraisers already, including a Parrothead Party and a raffle.
Their current fundraiser gives an opportunity for honoring loved ones. They’re selling paver bricks that will be part of the project, which come in 4×8 inches of 8×8 inches.
Locke said they’ve received calls from people wanting to honor veterans by purchasing a brick.
“It’s a win-win for everybody,” Locke tells the Times Union. “It’s a win-win for Warsaw. It’s a win-win for the Ride+Walk program. They wanted a trailhead in this area, so this worked out perfectly.”
The Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety approved the city buying the property earlier this year. The money came out of the Parks Department’s budget.
