With the Chautauqua Park playground project complete, the City of Owensboro will host a ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Mayor Tom Watson and city commissioners will be present for the event.
According to Owensboro Parks and Recreation Director Amanda Rogers, all playgrounds are in the City of Owensboro’s replacement plan and it was time for the equipment at Chautauqua to be replaced.
“Each year based upon how much we estimate the replacement cost to be we set aside a share of that costs — like a home savings account for a new roof or HVAC unit,” she said.
Rogers said her team estimates city playgrounds to last 14 years.
“Since we do weekly checks on these systems, we sometimes based upon wear and tear from use at locations that see higher traffic replace at 12 or 13 for locations with lower foot traffic maybe the unit last 15 years,” she said.
Owensboro Park and Recreation chose Miracle of KY & TN to supply the equipment. This is the same company that provided Smothers Park in downtown Owensboro.
The unit was approximately $180,000 and that includes equipment, surface and installation, Rogers said.
Chautauqua Park is a 31-acre community park acquired from Seven Hills Chautauqua Company in 1916. According to the Owensboro Parks and Recreation website, the company aimed to bring the Chautauqua Movement to Owensboro. The movement began in 1894 at a religious institute at Lake Chautauqua, New York. The company intended to make Owensboro’s Chautauqua Park a replica of the Mother Chautauqua Park in New York.
The owners of the Seven Hills Chautauqua Company believed their purpose was “to promote the cause of higher education, literacy and musical culture and social advancement,” the website reads.
The East Parrish Avenue park was originally filled with a 1/3 mile lagoon complete with boats, bowling alley, walking trail, an auditorium with seating for 6,000, many public and private buildings, a library and more, according to the website.
Chautauqua Park was annexed to the city in 1917, but renovations on the park did not begin until the early 1970s. The Travis Aubrey Skate Park was added in 2014.
The new playground equipment will open following the ribbon cutting on Tuesday.
