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ELKINS – The Randolph County Commission approved funding requests for a pair of playground projects this week during its regular meeting at the James F. Cain Courthouse Annex.
Commissioners Cris Siler, David Kesling and Chris See first heard from Janetta Ross, who serves as the Community in Schools site coordinator for Beverly Elementary.
Ross gave an informational presentation to the commission and talked about a fundraising campaign called "Project Playground" that she is leading in an attempt to purchase new state-of-the-art playground equipment at Beverly Elementary School.
"The playground at Beverly Elementary is really a community playground for the entire Beverly area," Ross said. "It is the only playground in the community and the school is a real hub of entertainment and activity for the people there."
Ross told the commission the current playground equipment at the school is more than 23 years old and that some of the pieces have already been taken down because they are no longer safe to use.
"We've had to remove one large slide last year and we've had to tape off an entire area this year because of a hole in some of the metal," she said. "It's really starting to fall apart and show its age."
Ross said the total cost for a new playground is going to cost approximately $135,000. She added that $22,400 has already been raised through donations and a recent auction/meatball hoagie sale.
"We kicked off our project in the fall of last year and we started with $10,000 of federal money that has to be spent this year," she said. "We raised over $9,000 during our hoagie sale and we have other fundraisers planned like a walkathon where the kids walk laps around the track and raise money. I've also applied for a grant through the Snowshoe Foundation."
Ross told the commission that all the work has to be done in the summer. He said school officials are hoping to know what can be purchased by mid-May.
"The large piece of playground equipment costs $70,000 and my original goal was to replace that this year," she said. "I don't know if we are going to get there or not. We are negotiating with the vendor also to see if there's another piece that we might be able to get in there."
Ross added the new equipment will benefit a variation of physical skills for children, and can be used by physically or mentally impaired students in the community
Kesling said the hotel-motel tax the county collects can be used for recreation purposes in the community. He told Ross the commission wants to help out and made a motion to support Project Playground with $25,000. Siler and See voted yes, unanimously granting the funding request.
Mark Allen was next on the meeting's agenda, and was speaking on behalf of Pickens School, which is also in need of new playground equipment.
Much like the situation at Beverly, Allen said the playground at the school in Pickens benefits everyone in the community.
"We seek your help in funding a playground project that will bring immense joy, health benefits and a sense of community to our area," said Allen, who is a counselor at the school. "Pickens School is kindergarten through 12th grade nestled in the scenic beauty of West Virginia. It is a place of great natural charm. However, our remote location and limited access to amenities like playgrounds, pose a challenge especially for our children and their families.
"Unlike more urban areas where playgrounds are abundant and easily accessible, our community lacks such resources. This impacts not just recreational opportunities for our children, but also the wellbeing of our community members."
Allen said playgrounds are not just a place for children to have fun, but a place where people can interact socially. He added that a company has offered to match any amount raised for a new playground at the school, which will cost approximately $50,000.
"We have been busy working hard on this," said Allen. "Randolph County Schools just purchased a merry-go-round for the project and we have a grant through the Snowshoe Foundation. So we have some money raised for this project. We hope that you guys can help us out with this."
Kesling told Allen that Pickens is a special place and said the commission wanted to help with the project. All three commissioners voted to provide $25,000 to the playground project at Pickens School. The money will be taken from the county's hotel-motel tax line item in the county budget.