East Side park gets upgraded as 'great gathering spot for families'
"I played on that park myself, as a young person when spending summers with my grandmother," Bolyard said. "So to see that generational place in the neighborhood for families and children continue to expand, that would be a paramount takeaway from yesterday for me."
On Monday, the City of Fairmont and the Rotary Club of Fairmont celebrated groundbreaking on improvements for the mini park, for which the Rotary Club donated $25,000. As a result, the park will be known as the Rotary Club of Fairmont Mini Park. The total cost of the improvements will land around $90,000, and represent a portion of roughly $3 million which Bolyard said the City was putting into its park system this fiscal year.
"This is the latest announcement in our plan to update and revitalize all our municipal parks," City Manager Travis Blosser said in a press release. "This $25,000 donation from the Rotary Club of Fairmont sets a new standard for relationships with our community partners, and we hope to continue this relationship and have other partners follow suit."
What the City will also follow suit on is its preservation of the park's famous dolphin and turtle. Blosser confirmed the dolphin would receive a nice spa day on Facebook, and said the kids from East Park put him on notice that nothing better happen to it or the turtle.
"She is staying!!!" Blosser promised on Facebook. Bolyard said the City is looking at doing one better.
"The City will have something to celebrate their rejuvenation and treatment," she said. "There'll be a contest and events surrounding the dolphin and the turtle. They've been there since the 80s, as long as I can remember as a younger child playing on them."
Julie Sawyer, Fairmont Rotary Club President, said the club was able to donate because it had excess money from its Fly the Flag fundraising project in Fairmont. She said the group decided to put that money back into the community, and after tossing a few ideas around, they decided a playground would be a good idea. They reached out to the City of Fairmont to see if they could partner on anything the City was doing.
"We were thrilled, we're honored to be able to play a role in this renovation and improvement of the Morgantown Avenue Mini Park, which is now going to be called the Rotary Club of Fairmont Mini Park," Sawyer said.
The park's improvements include two new playsets, new mulch and border, new paved pathways, a replacement water fountain and the installation of a second fountain, a new pavilion and new security cameras. The improvements will allow the park to continue serving the next generation of Fairmont residents.
"The mayor grew up in that area, Travis grew up in that area," Sawyer said. "They talked about how they played in that park and it's a place where children learn and grow and families come together and neighbors can gather. I know they're putting in a pavilion so that's going to be a great gathering spot for the people of the community."
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