A partnership approved Wednesday could mean a new playground at West Cadiz Park within the next year.
The Cadiz-Trigg County Joint Parks and Recreation Board voted 4-0 Wednesday to enter into a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to find the funding to complete the project.
West Cadiz Park has a 115 by 40-foot playground area that has seen a few upgrades through the years. Kayl Kite is the lake manager for the Nashville District and said he would like to see new equipment and a new base for the playground.
He said an option on the table would be the addition of an adaptive area to make the playground ADA-compliant.
click to download audioBoard member Matt Ladd liked the idea of making the playground accessible to everyone.
click to download audioIn order to make the entire playground ADA accessible, it would cost around $70,000 to pour and cover the surface before any equipment is installed.
Kite said a new playground was installed at the Kuttawa recreation area after storm damage took out the large equipment last year. He said that cost about $45,000 which affected their budget for new projects like Cadiz.
click to download audioKite said a partnership between the recreation board and the Nashville district office would mean they could apply for funding through the Army Corps of Engineers Handshake Partnership Program which has distributed nearly $3 million in seed money for projects over the past 15 years.
The maximum funds received would be $30,000 with parks and recreation board members agreeing to match that with their own $30,000 or even more depending on the scope of the project.
Kite said if they don’t benefit from Handshake funding this year, their contribution would be less.
click to download audioIf the playground is upgraded, Kite said the Nashville office would be responsible for the maintenance of the equipment and asked if the parks and recreation board or the City could replace the engineered wood fiber base every 2-3 years at a cost of $2,000-$3,000.
click to download audioWest Cadiz Park, known officially as the Cadiz Recreation Area, is one of 26 properties maintained by the Nashville District that includes day-use areas, campgrounds, boat ramps, and recreation areas.
The City of Cadiz maintains just two park properties — the Juanita Oates Park on Hayden Street and Cadiz Central Park at the west end of the Cadiz Walking Trail.
