“I know we’ve come a long way; We’re changing day to day; But tell me, where do the children play?” — Musician Cat Stevens
MANSFIELD — Cliff Mears said he was driving his Jeep on Thursday when a Cat Stevens song came on the radio that he hasn’t heard in 50 years.
“I thought, ‘How ironic is that?'” Mears said Friday morning during a fundraising update event for the Sterkel Park for All, referencing the song “Where do the children play?” written in 1970.
A Richland County commissioner, Mears was one of the speakers during an event at the park, where it was announced the Richland County Foundation had contributed $541,000 to the fundraising effort.
“The theme of the song is we’ve done all these great technological things. We’re building jumbo jets back in the 1970s. We’re building huge skyscrapers. We’ve got all these technological advancements.
“But the chorus is, ‘But where do the children play?’ It comes down to that element. And that’s what we’re here for today, because it is so essential, so basic and goes back to our roots,” Mears said.
Richland County commissioners have contributed $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the effort, which will create a 20-acre, all-inclusive park and playground at the city park located off Hillcrest Street.
Mears said he has visited such an inclusive park near his daughter’s home in Westlake.
“Until you’ve seen one, you really can’t appreciate how different it is. You can see children of various abilities, of all abilities, being able to play together and establishing relationships together and laughing together.
“So it’s very different. And that’s, I think, why we feel so strongly about this,” Mears said.
Chief fundraiser Chriss Harris of CHarris Consulting, who announced about $4 million of the $5.4 million needed for the park has been raised, said construction is underway.
The latest addition from the Richland County Foundation came from the following foundation funds: the Leona M. Miles Fund; the Donald S. and Clara Louise Black Philanthropic Fund; the Carl and Annamarie Fernyak Fund; the John P. Gross Family Fund, and the Shelby Cooper Memorial Fund.
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 have said.
“We are rolling now. Zone One should be complete by late fall, Nov. 1. Zones Two and Three will be covered by children, hopefully by next summer,” Harris said.
“That’s what we hope. Things take time. You have raise the money. You have to spend the money, order equipment, and you have to get it in. You have to set it up. You have to coordinate with 50 different people,” Harris said with a laugh.
Mansfield City Council recently approved $400,000 for the park. The money will be used in Zone One to cover the grading, concrete, electrical services and storm sewer installation. It will also feature new restrooms that will be built compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Mansfield’s share will be funded with $200,000 from the city’s remaining share of ARPA 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.
Harris credited Richland Newhope Supt. Michelle Giess for her leadership in the project. Newhope, the City of Mansfield and the Richland Community Development Group have driven the effort.
“Michelle has taken the lead. She has worked her buns off on this project,” Harris said.
Giess on Thursday thanked those assembled in the park pavilion on a damp morning, a group that included Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker.
“I’m just excited beyond belief,” said Giess, who brought the proposal to Mansfield City Council in August of 2021.
“We’ve talked about this for about four and a half years now. It just started out as a group of people trying to figure out what we could do with a small pot of (donated) money that we had,” Giess said.
She said the small committee originally planned installing accessible equipment into an existing park.
“It really grew into ‘What about a new park that’s completely accessible for everybody so that nobody has to sit on the sidelines, everybody can be included.’
“With that vision and the help of a lot of people that are sitting here, they were part of the committees and those conversations, it kind of grew into this,” Giess said.
Organizers said more playground equipment will be ordered for Zones 2 through 5 as donations continue to come in.
Park fundraisers are still focused on raising $750,000 specifically for the Sky Tower in Zone 2. The 26-foot-high Sky Tower will provide children ages 5 and older with a bird’s eye view of the world.
Donors to the Park’s Sky Tower will have their names featured on it.
Weaving among the park zones will be a mile-long walking path with shaded benches along the way. The path will be open year-round.
Donations can be made online at the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce website at www.richlandareachamber.com by scrolling to the bottom of the Chamber’s home page and clicking on “sector groups” under “Initiatives’” and then clicking on the Sterkel Park Sector’s “donate” button.
Gift checks can be sent to PARK-RCDG, in care of Newhope, 314 Cleveland Ave., Mansfield, Ohio, 44902.
