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Vernon Hills will contribute $200,000 toward new playground

The new Kids Castle, described by the Vernon Hills Park District as a community playground, will receive $200,000 in financial backing from the village.

The contribution, to be spread over two years, represents about a third of the estimated cost of the project to replace the original version in Deerpath Park that was designed, funded and built by volunteers 20 years ago.

"I'm really not opposed to it," Trustee Thom Koch said of the contribution, which could be partially offset by any corporate contributions secured by the village. "It's the same constituency. We all represent the same people."

The castle-themed playground was dismantled last fall because of rotted wood, beehives and outdated equipment that no longer met National Playground Safety Standards. The footprint of the new version will be about the same at 8,500 square feet, but it will be fully accessible to children with disabilities and have a variety of new features, including a spongy surface and a permanent bathroom.

However, with a $600,000 price tag, the park district was looking for assistance.

"It could go up. I doubt it will go down," park board President Jim Ballowe told the village board Tuesday during an informal discussion.

Fundraising efforts, such as the sale of bricks and a big in-kind contribution of about 1,000 feet of fencing, have amounted to about $100,000, park district Executive Director Jeff Fougerousse said Wednesday.

"We had budgeted to raise about $100,000 so we're right there," Fougerousse said. "Having the village support is very significant."

The park district has raised about $15,000 in cash. Village trustees unanimously supported the donation but asked the district to list its fundraising contacts.

"I just want to see what effort was made. I'm not averse to putting some money in the pot here," Mayor Roger Byrne said.

Trustees learned the park district could receive up to $1.36 million in impact fees as its share of new residential development in town. However, the district owes the village $900,000 on a loan for the purchase of the former YMCA property and is proceeding with a $5.6 million expansion of the Sullivan Center.

About $275,000 of the playground cost will be for equipment and $200,000 for the poured-in-place surface. The total cost is part of $1.3 million in improvements considered part of a master plan for Deerpath Park that includes renovations of six tennis courts and two ball fields and construction of a new path north from the playground. Site clearing is expected to begin in May, with the opening of the new Kids Castle in late June.

@dhmickzawislak

The restored large dragon cutout will become the entry sign to the new Kids Castle playground at Deerpath Park in Vernon Hills. Courtesy of Vernon Hills Park District
  Safety fencing surrounds the site of the Kids Castle playground, which was dismantled last fall and will be replaced with a handicapped-accessible version. Mick Zawislak/mzawislak@dailyherald.com
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