MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Council is expected to discuss Tuesday evening a plan to spend $400,000 on the initial phase of the Sterkel Park for All.
The legislation, scheduled for a vote on June 6, will assist with constructing zone one of the planned five-zone park on the 20-acre site off Hillcrest Street.
Specifically, the city’s funds will pay for site grading, storm sewer installation, all hard surfaces (primarily concrete), electrical service and restrooms that are compliant with all requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to city engineer Bob Bianchi.
The city’s share will be funded with $200,000 from the city’s remaining share of American Rescue Plan Act funds and $200,000 from the Parks & Recreation Department.
Equipment planned for zone one includes a pavilion/shelter, pickleball courts, fitness equipment, ping-pong tables, tables and benches, game tables, bike racks and fencing.
If approved, bids will be sought in June and construction done by November, according to Mark Abrams, superintendent of the city Parks & Recreation Department.
Officials have said the ADA-compliant park will feature five age-appropriate zones with equipment and opportunities to “enhance a child’s mobility and sensory skills, challenge athletic users, support senior citizen activities and unite families,” organizers said.
The expected total cost of the park is $5.4 million and a public/private fundraising drive, which officially began in August 2022, continues to move along, according to Chriss Harris of CHarris Consulting.
Harris said Friday that fundraising should be around $4 million by July and that efforts to raise the remaining funds will continue through the summer to raise funds for zones two and three.
She said $750,000 has already been spent on equipment for zone one.
“People have been extremely receptive to this campaign,” Harris said. “We are very excited to break ground and get started. This is a good start and we are ready to bring it home with the remainder of the fundraising.
“When it’s finished, this will be the biggest park of its kind in Ohio,” she said.
Initial discussions about the park began four yeas ago, according to Michelle Giess, superintendent for Richland Newhope.
“It started with a simple conversation and it grew into what we have come up with today. It’s been a great collaboration,” Giess said when the formal fundraising campaign began.
Donations can be made online at the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development website at www.richlandareachamber.com. The direct link is: https://www.mightycause.com/story/T71pfg
Donations by check can be made payable to “RCDG-Park Project,” in care of Richland Newhope, 314 Cleveland Ave, Mansfield, Ohio 44902.
For more information on the park project, contact Chriss Harris at chrissharris@embarqmail.com
“Everyone, no matter their age or disability, deserves a place to play, socialize and have fun — and this park will have it all,” she said.
A consortium of three organizations — the City of Mansfield, Newhope and the Richland Area Chamber and Economic Development’s Community Development Group (RCDG) worked with equipment vendors to select the planned equipment.
The park is centrally located within the city’s largest residential areas and is within a short distance of Newhope Raintree, Catalyst Life Services Rehab Center, medical offices and the YMCA of North Central Ohio.
(Above is the floorplan for the ADA-compliant restrooms planned at the Sterkel Park for All.)
During the luncheon to kick off official fundraising, Giess said it would truly be a park for all.
“I think what’s been designed has an amenity for every person, whether it’s having a 100-year-old birthday party with great-great grandchildren or a mother trying to push a stroller around in a wagon … this park is gonna meet your needs,” she said.
“That’s what we’ve tried to develop. It really is something special when you don’t have to explain to people what it is. You come and you enjoy the park and you don’t need to have somebody explain because you don’t have barriers.
“You just come and you experience and you have a good time. And then you share that with your friends,” Giess said.
