Phase one work for the Olpe Fitness Park project is now into the design phase following action by the USD 252 Board of Education Wednesday evening.
During their regular board meeting, members made and approved a motion to accept just over $180,000 from the Olpe Fitness Park Committee to engage an architect and engineers for phase one design work. This is a major step in the park’s development process that come just a few months after the project committee hit its phase one fundraising goal of $2.5 million just before the start of the new year.
According to Olpe Fitness Park Committee Chair Tyler Schmidt, design work is tentatively set to take six months to complete with construction to begin shortly after. All told, Schmidt says current plans are for phase one to be completed within 18 months.
With that in mind, fundraising is already underway for phase two of the project with a $1.45 million goal, of which he says the committee is already at the halfway point of following the second annual Green Machine Gala this past weekend which managed to raise just over $100,000 on top of a special grant announcement made that same night.
Schmidt commended the local community for “stepping up” to support the project in recent months. He says getting the ball rolling wasn’t the easiest task, however, with the success of phase one fundraising he believes they have nothing but momentum moving forward.
Phase one work will include a new football stadium, including a field, eight-lane track, bleachers, press box and fencing; as well as the start of a fitness trail. Phase two will focus on adding a new splash pad to Olpe Jones Park, a new fitness trail and stations and a 1,700-square-foot building that will include a concessions stand, ticket booth and restrooms.
