Person Field to add playground

COEUR d'ALENE - A $30,000 upgrade of Person Field will get underway this summer, adding playground equipment to the northern end of the sports complex.

The Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors is footing the bill for the equipment and Coeur d'Alene City Parks Department, along with a handful of neighborhood volunteers, will install it.

Denise Lundy, chair of the CAR board of directors, said the board made a decision to change the way the association makes donations this year.

"Our organization has made many charitable donations to nonprofits over the years that we can be proud of," she told a room full of real estate agents Tuesday at their quarterly general membership meeting.

"We will continue to help out anywhere we can," she continued. "However your 2014 board of directors has decided to change the culture in the way we give, and try to look for ways we can make small differences in our community that will last into perpetuity, and to stand as constant reminder of the ideals that Realtors represent."

That is what prompted Lundy to approach the city's Interim Parks Director Bill Greenwood with an offer to buy the playground equipment.

Greenwood told the Realtors group that the donation came at a great time because the city had just completed the purchase of the 3-plus acre park in the 700 block of 15th Street. City officials had been meeting with neighbors of the park to discuss how they would like to see it developed in the future.

"One of the things that came about in those meetings is they all thought a playground would be a great idea," he said, adding the field is currently used for junior tackle football and adult softball so the playground would be a welcome addition for the younger children who accompany their siblings and parents to those games.

Greenwood said the project will include making the park more compliant with the American Disabilities Act and adding the playground equipment.

Currently the project does not include swings, but Greenwood is looking at ways to add swings to the playground as well.

The new playground will include park benches and a permanent sign commemorating the Realtors' donation. The playground will be called Realtors' playground.