LaHood Park Restroom/Storm Shelter
Tax deductible
Background
Harry LaHood Park was one of the most popular parks in Washington and is located in the middle of one of the most heavily damaged areas due to the EF-4 tornado that struck Washington, IL on November 17, 2013. It received heavy damage itself from high winds and debris damage. It also became a storage area for damaged vehicles in order to clear the roadways for emergency response and recovery vehicles.
Goal
It is our goal to make this park better than it was before, so that the neighborhood and community will see it as an asset once again. With improvements, it will become a bigger attraction, boosting the interest and desire of families to live near the park. It will provide those families, a safe place to play if they are unable to play in their yards.
It will increase property values of vacant properties and homes that may be less desiable due to being in the affected area and/or damaged as a result of the tornado as well attract new families to purchase them. The quicker Washington sells these vacant properties to families, the quicker the Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) can recover, which helps all Washington residents.
The Park District Board of Commissioners has approved the Site Plan which includes a restroom similar to this:
Need
Due to the popularity of the water playground and the park, the park is a destination point for the entire community. There have been many requests over the years for a restroom with flushing toilets and a space to change into and out of swimsuits. We also want to be able to provide a safe place for those park patrons to go in case of a thunder storm or another tornado.
The proposed facility will have a male and female restroom with wheel chair accessibility and a drinking fountain. The building will be built with 8 inch CMU blocks. The 8” CMU meet different High Velocity Hurrican Zone requirements for Florida building codes in the coastal areas most likely to be affected by hurricane force winds. All walls will have vertical rebar installed through each open cell of the masonry blocks and filled with concrete. Welded tubular steel framing will be welded to the rebar with standing seam metal roofing. The restroom has 112 square foot of space for several people to take shelter if needed.
The wind rating of each of the thickness of block will be as follows:
8” CMU 135 mph VASD/175 mph VALT
Summary
Thanks to corporate sponsors, service organizations such as Rotary, many other volunteers as well as the Washington Tornado Recovery Fund we have removed the grass and top layer of soil to remove any dangerous and unseen debris and have resodded 75% of the park. This project will be completed by the end of June.
We have been able to replace most of the damaged amenities through insurance
One of our commissioners and his family have assisted in the funding and construction of a new shelter that was built last fall, the H.G. “Fuzz” Weston Shelter.
Thanks to additional monetary and in kind donations and volunteers efforts, we also plan to add a full basketball court and an enhanced Water Playground to include new and additional features.
To date, we have raised approximately $105,000 toward the restroom facility and are looking to raise an additional $30,000 to be able to complete this project with the highest wind rated building and 8”CMU walls. With your help we can reach this goal and not only restore this park to its pretornado condition, but make it a fun and safe place for the entire community to enjoy.
Harry LaHood Park was one of the most popular parks in Washington and is located in the middle of one of the most heavily damaged areas due to the EF-4 tornado that struck Washington, IL on November 17, 2013. It received heavy damage itself from high winds and debris damage. It also became a storage area for damaged vehicles in order to clear the roadways for emergency response and recovery vehicles.
Goal
It is our goal to make this park better than it was before, so that the neighborhood and community will see it as an asset once again. With improvements, it will become a bigger attraction, boosting the interest and desire of families to live near the park. It will provide those families, a safe place to play if they are unable to play in their yards.
It will increase property values of vacant properties and homes that may be less desiable due to being in the affected area and/or damaged as a result of the tornado as well attract new families to purchase them. The quicker Washington sells these vacant properties to families, the quicker the Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) can recover, which helps all Washington residents.
The Park District Board of Commissioners has approved the Site Plan which includes a restroom similar to this:
Need
Due to the popularity of the water playground and the park, the park is a destination point for the entire community. There have been many requests over the years for a restroom with flushing toilets and a space to change into and out of swimsuits. We also want to be able to provide a safe place for those park patrons to go in case of a thunder storm or another tornado.
The proposed facility will have a male and female restroom with wheel chair accessibility and a drinking fountain. The building will be built with 8 inch CMU blocks. The 8” CMU meet different High Velocity Hurrican Zone requirements for Florida building codes in the coastal areas most likely to be affected by hurricane force winds. All walls will have vertical rebar installed through each open cell of the masonry blocks and filled with concrete. Welded tubular steel framing will be welded to the rebar with standing seam metal roofing. The restroom has 112 square foot of space for several people to take shelter if needed.
The wind rating of each of the thickness of block will be as follows:
8” CMU 135 mph VASD/175 mph VALT
Summary
Thanks to corporate sponsors, service organizations such as Rotary, many other volunteers as well as the Washington Tornado Recovery Fund we have removed the grass and top layer of soil to remove any dangerous and unseen debris and have resodded 75% of the park. This project will be completed by the end of June.
We have been able to replace most of the damaged amenities through insurance
One of our commissioners and his family have assisted in the funding and construction of a new shelter that was built last fall, the H.G. “Fuzz” Weston Shelter.
Thanks to additional monetary and in kind donations and volunteers efforts, we also plan to add a full basketball court and an enhanced Water Playground to include new and additional features.
To date, we have raised approximately $105,000 toward the restroom facility and are looking to raise an additional $30,000 to be able to complete this project with the highest wind rated building and 8”CMU walls. With your help we can reach this goal and not only restore this park to its pretornado condition, but make it a fun and safe place for the entire community to enjoy.
Organizer
Brian Tibbs
Organizer
Washington, IL
WASHINGTON PARK DISTRICT FOUNDATION NFP
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
