Kiwanis Park enhancement project will emphasize universal access

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PITTSBORO — Pittsboro’s Kiwanis Park, located on Credle Street, will be getting a makeover thanks to longtime Chatham resident Patricia L. Johnson.

Johnson was recognized last week by the town’s board of commissioners for a $50,000 donation to fund park enhancements that will “create an inclusive playground that goes beyond the minimal requirements of universal access and encourages children of all abilities to interact and play with each other,” a town resolution said.

“We’re just really privileged and fortunate to have Ms. Johnson’s donation and to have the support of the Kiwanis Club with us in the town,” Town Manager Chris Kennedy told the News + Record. “We’re excited about it and look forward to seeing the project come to fruition.”

An expansion of the Kiwanis park has been in concept for years, club representatives said, but funds have been short until now.

“This donation means that we’ve now got a real chance at doing what we’ve wanted to do for a good while,” said John Justice, a past president of Pittsboro’s Kiwanis Club.

The club’s primary goal will be to include more accessible features in the modified park.

“We want to do something for special needs kids,” said Bill Baker, another of the club’s past presidents, “to incorporate some of that in its design.”

The Kiwanis Club’s commitment to universal access is what first compelled Johnson to donate.

“That was one thing that attracted me when I first read about the plan and it talked about that,” she said. “My late husband’s grandson is autistic, so that is very special to me.”

Ronald D. Singleton was a long-time North Carolina engineer who retired from Chatham County as public works director. Most of his career was spent in Cary as town engineer. For his lifetime commitment to public service, his widow felt a donation to upgrade the Kiwanis park was a fitting tribute to his legacy.

“I knew about the park and I thought that would be a good place to put a donation in Ron’s name,” she said.

In addition to Johnson’s donation, a recently approved reimbursement grant from Chatham County will further contribute to the park’s redevelopment.

“So, between the two,” Kennedy said, “we’re $73,025 better off than we were a few weeks ago.”

Besides play features, the park will require significant infrastructure modifications, such as “comfort stations,” which Kennedy says will cost about $100,000 alone.

“And that’s just a fancy term for restrooms,” Kennedy said. “In parks they call them comfort stations for whatever reason, but I guess when you need them they are comforting.”

It may seem standard for parks to include on site restrooms, he added, but it’s a rarity in Pittsboro.

“That’s an exciting project for us,” he said, “because anyone who’s been here long enough knows we don’t have bathrooms in our parks.”

Right now, the Kiwanis park is served by a porta-potty.

“It works,” Kennedy said, “but it’s not the most ideal situation.”

The town and the Kiwanis Club have not yet worked out a timeline for the project, Kennedy said, but they “won’t sit on it forever” — it’s integral to a bigger vision of Pittsboro’s expansion.

“You’re going to have a lot of new developments with newer park features and recreation amenities within their subdivisions,” Kennedy said. “But from a town perspective, looking at the more historic parks like this one that have been around for a while, we want those to be revamped — we want to keep those current. We can’t just let those rust away. So, we certainly will keep investing in those things.”

Reporter D. Lars Dolder can be reached at dldolder@chathamnr.com and on Twitter @dldolder.