When the idea of a new city park on La Crescent’s north end was conceived, the La Crescent Rotary Club knew it wanted to contribute in some way. That way ended up being one of the largest projects the club had ever undertaken, and last month, it completed the installation of a $100,000 set of handicap-accessible playground equipment. Volunteers gathered at Old Hickory Park on Jonathan Lane August 9, and by the end of the day, what started as pieces of equipment in boxes, became a functioning playground kids will be able to enjoy for years.

In 2002, Rotary decided it wanted to take a project larger than it ever had in the past, Rotarian Doug Harpeneau said. So the club went to city administrator Bill Waller and asked if it could work on raising money to provide playground equipment.

“As a club of 35, we knew $100,000 was going to be a pretty big task,” he said, “but we pursued it with passion.”

In addition to its yearly fundraisers like Rotary Roses and its Applefest fundraiser, the club sold bricks, picnic benches, trees, and park benches, all of which contain the donor’s name and will be placed in the park. And last year’s community breakfast, when the Rotary teamed up with the Lions and Knights of Columbus, saw its proceeds go to the park. In addition, Rotary has accepted donations, such as the $1,000 is received from the La Crescent Foundation a couple weeks ago.

Because the project spanned six years, Rotary was able to look closely at what kind of equipment it wanted to see installed, said Mary Grattan, another Rotarian. The driving focus, she said, was the handicap-accessibility. And after some prompting by a group of community members in the neighborhood, who became part of the project committee, Rotary began purchasing equipment and making plans for installation.

“That group was primarily the one responsible for designing the playground,” she said.

Last summer, the 6 to12-year-old phase of the playground was set up. Then last month, the 2 to 5-year-old portion was completed. The structure includes swings, slides, cargo nets, poles, and steps. Soon to follow will be the installation of the trees, bricks, and benches that were sold. Some items are still available for purchase, Grattan said, with a tentative 2009 installation.

Most of the park is dedicated to accessibility for those with disabilities, and that was a big reason Rotary wanted to be involved, because there isn’t another place like it in the area.

“We’re extremely proud of it,” Harpeneau said. “The focus was, when we started, we wanted to leave the community a better place than when we came into it.”

Other partners in the overall park project, include the City of La Crescent, La Crescent Lions Club, La Crescent Youth Soccer Association, and La Crescent Community Foundation.

“There’s a lot of community effort in getting this park finished,” Grattan said.