South Park Schools Athletic Complex
Tax deductible
Thank you for visiting our donation page! Please read this in its entirety. It explains the scope of the project in detail.
The South Park Schools Foundation, The South Park Recreation District, and the Town of Fairplay want to develop an outdoor recreation facility that would contain a high school baseball field that meets Colorado High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) standards; a little league baseball field; practice fields usable for soccer and little league football; volleyball, tennis, and basketball courts; a sand play area with playground equipment; a perimeter walking/jogging path with six exercise stations; a concessions stand with restrooms and storage space for maintenance equipment; a picnic shelter; an outdoor amphitheater; and the retention of a historic narrow gauge railroad spur. The outdoor recreation facility will augment the South Park, Parks and Recreation District’s (recreation district’s) outdoor recreation programs and the Park County School District Re-2’s (school district’s) athletic programs, as well as providing the public with free use and access to all of the facilities.
The development of this community project is critical to bring to fruition the completion of a long term major capital construction project that began with a $15,060,382 BEST grant and passage of a $15,060,382 Bond Initiative 3A for matching funds to upgrade the school district’s classroom buildings and athletic facilities. The construction of this outdoor recreation facility is the last remaining part of the capital construction project yet to be completed. On June 17, 2010, GOCO granted to the Town of Fairplay $110,500 toward the purchase of the 11.9 acres of land necessary for this project. The original application for the GOCO Grant was a joint effort of the Town of Fairplay, the recreation district, and the school district. Following the award of the Grant to the town, the town deeded the land to the school district. The continuation of the planning process for site development would fulfill an obligation to GOCO that the land be developed for outdoor recreation facilities as stated in the application for the GOCO Land Acquisition Grant. The successful development of this site will complete the final phase of the largest capital construction project ever initiated in Fairplay and will fulfill a commitment to the voters who approved Bond Initiative 3A. In addition, the development of this outdoor recreation facility will help satisfy a widely held and growing expectation among residents that community development should be pursued for economic growth and for the mental and physical health and well-being of our youth, adults, and senior citizens.
The site plan would address numerous outdoor recreational shortcomings that adversely affect multiple communities throughout South Park. They are as follows:
There is no high school baseball field, and the little league baseball fields are inadequate. The little league fields could not be converted for high school use because the outfields are too short for CHSAA standards and cannot be extended because of property boundaries and the surrounding wetlands. Both little league fields are unusable in the spring due to potholes and mud, snow, and ice on the fields from overflowing stream water that freezes during the springtime runoff from the mountain snow melt. It is dangerous to access these fields; children have to walk along the shoulder of State Highway 285. The high school baseball team currently practices on the football field or in the school gymnasium.
The recreation district, which serves the larger community across the county, lacks any outdoor facilities to support its growing soccer program. The South Park Futbol Club has soccer players ranging from preschool through seventh grade. The children are relegated to indoor practice on hard surface floors inside the local school gymnasiums. Sometimes practice is conducted on the little league baseball fields, where several children have suffered injuries from the potholes. Outdoor grass facilities for soccer are unavailable, preventing the children from playing in realistic game conditions. Consequently, they must travel to Buena Vista in Chaffee County to compete on outdoor soccer fields in that county’s league.
No public outdoor tennis courts, basketball courts, or volleyball courts exist anywhere in this half of Park County south of Kenosha Pass. This area is a little larger than one-half the size of the state of Delaware.
There are no areas within the Town of Fairplay dedicated to safe walking or jogging. Most of the town does not have sidewalks, and those that do exist are intermittent. For the most part, residents walk, jog, or push strollers in the roads that are shared by vehicular traffic. The depth of snow on forest hiking trails in the winter and spring make them inaccessible and unsafe for the elderly.
Please support this much needed project.
The South Park Schools Foundation, The South Park Recreation District, and the Town of Fairplay want to develop an outdoor recreation facility that would contain a high school baseball field that meets Colorado High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) standards; a little league baseball field; practice fields usable for soccer and little league football; volleyball, tennis, and basketball courts; a sand play area with playground equipment; a perimeter walking/jogging path with six exercise stations; a concessions stand with restrooms and storage space for maintenance equipment; a picnic shelter; an outdoor amphitheater; and the retention of a historic narrow gauge railroad spur. The outdoor recreation facility will augment the South Park, Parks and Recreation District’s (recreation district’s) outdoor recreation programs and the Park County School District Re-2’s (school district’s) athletic programs, as well as providing the public with free use and access to all of the facilities.
The development of this community project is critical to bring to fruition the completion of a long term major capital construction project that began with a $15,060,382 BEST grant and passage of a $15,060,382 Bond Initiative 3A for matching funds to upgrade the school district’s classroom buildings and athletic facilities. The construction of this outdoor recreation facility is the last remaining part of the capital construction project yet to be completed. On June 17, 2010, GOCO granted to the Town of Fairplay $110,500 toward the purchase of the 11.9 acres of land necessary for this project. The original application for the GOCO Grant was a joint effort of the Town of Fairplay, the recreation district, and the school district. Following the award of the Grant to the town, the town deeded the land to the school district. The continuation of the planning process for site development would fulfill an obligation to GOCO that the land be developed for outdoor recreation facilities as stated in the application for the GOCO Land Acquisition Grant. The successful development of this site will complete the final phase of the largest capital construction project ever initiated in Fairplay and will fulfill a commitment to the voters who approved Bond Initiative 3A. In addition, the development of this outdoor recreation facility will help satisfy a widely held and growing expectation among residents that community development should be pursued for economic growth and for the mental and physical health and well-being of our youth, adults, and senior citizens.
The site plan would address numerous outdoor recreational shortcomings that adversely affect multiple communities throughout South Park. They are as follows:
There is no high school baseball field, and the little league baseball fields are inadequate. The little league fields could not be converted for high school use because the outfields are too short for CHSAA standards and cannot be extended because of property boundaries and the surrounding wetlands. Both little league fields are unusable in the spring due to potholes and mud, snow, and ice on the fields from overflowing stream water that freezes during the springtime runoff from the mountain snow melt. It is dangerous to access these fields; children have to walk along the shoulder of State Highway 285. The high school baseball team currently practices on the football field or in the school gymnasium.
The recreation district, which serves the larger community across the county, lacks any outdoor facilities to support its growing soccer program. The South Park Futbol Club has soccer players ranging from preschool through seventh grade. The children are relegated to indoor practice on hard surface floors inside the local school gymnasiums. Sometimes practice is conducted on the little league baseball fields, where several children have suffered injuries from the potholes. Outdoor grass facilities for soccer are unavailable, preventing the children from playing in realistic game conditions. Consequently, they must travel to Buena Vista in Chaffee County to compete on outdoor soccer fields in that county’s league.
No public outdoor tennis courts, basketball courts, or volleyball courts exist anywhere in this half of Park County south of Kenosha Pass. This area is a little larger than one-half the size of the state of Delaware.
There are no areas within the Town of Fairplay dedicated to safe walking or jogging. Most of the town does not have sidewalks, and those that do exist are intermittent. For the most part, residents walk, jog, or push strollers in the roads that are shared by vehicular traffic. The depth of snow on forest hiking trails in the winter and spring make them inaccessible and unsafe for the elderly.
Please support this much needed project.
Organizer
Colleen McBride Goettelman
Organizer
Fairplay, CO
South Park Schools Foundation
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
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