New Playground, More Parking at County Annex Planned

Annex Playground

Parking spaces at the Prowers County Annex on East Cedar and South 4^th Streets has always been at a premium.  The County Commissioner gave their approval for a GoCO grant application to be submitted by the Department of Human Services, which, when completed, could provide for a new playground and four new parking spaces.

Lanie Mireles, Director of Human Services for Prowers County and Amy Smith and Jerry Roseberry, outlined the idea for a $40,000 grant. “We think this will help with parking and provide for a new, more private playground used by DHS for family visits,” Mireles explained during the commissioners meeting on Monday, October 24^th.  She added, she’s contacted Kirk Powers, County Building Operations Supervisor, on the project which would use the current playground area for parking and relocate new playground equipment to the north side of the family building at the corner of South 4^th and Cedar Streets.  The grant would require a percentage cash match from the county.

Mireles said because the grant stipulates the playground would have to be open to the public, but only during regular business hours and a fence would still need to surround the new playground area, as it now does for the current one. She added that the equipment at the playground does need to be upgraded and should offer privacy when family members have visitation time with their children.

Initial paperwork for the approval request needs to be submitted to the state in early November. Mireles said she’d come back to the commissioners with details by mid-November before it’s submitted in final form to GoCO and the notice of the award should be announced by April.

By Russ Baldwin