Residents of Churubusco are a proud group of people. We are proud of our school, proud of Oscar the Turtle, and especially proud of our park. The Churubusco Park has seen many expansions over the past 60 years since the first two acres were donated to the Town. Now encompassing over 60 acres, the Park is visited by many, not only in Smith and Green Townships, but by people from all over Northeast Indiana. One thing lacking in the Park is ADA accessible playground equipment. Clerk-Treasurer and Town ADA Coordinator, Madalyn Sade-Bartl, stated that providing a safe playground for all Churubusco youth was one aspect of the Town’s ADA Transition Plan, adopted November 6, 2013. “The equipment in the main play area, next to the pavilion and Diamond 1, is old. It has been around since I was a child. Not only that, it does not meet federal regulations for ADA accessibility; something of which all public entities must abide. The focus of this year’s fundraiser, and upcoming fundraisers, is to raise funds to provide children of all abilities an environment that is safe and promotes health and wellness and then maintain those facilities once we have them.” In addition to replacing the equipment with new, ADA accessible equipment, the grounds will need to be excavated to fix drainage issues in the area. This is no small task, and we know that a few little fundraisers will not fund the entire project. We are looking at obtaining grants for a majority of the project, but in order to be considered for a grant, we must prove that we can provide some funding, too.
While the Park does receive property tax revenue, property tax caps have caused the amount the Park receives to dwindle and in order to accommodate the continuous maintenance that is required of a park this size, additional fundraising efforts must be done. The Town is committed to holding numerous fundraising events for the Park throughout the year and over the three year span in which the Town has been active in doing this, has raised almost $2500 for the Park Improvement Fund. Although the amount may seem small, it has allowed the Park to purchase items it would not have been able to afford, such as a new tire swing for the back playground and helped to make ADA improvements in the Scout Building. In previous years, the Town has hosted dinners and bake sales to raise funds. This year the Town has partnered with the Churubusco Rotary and is doing something different by instead selling raffle tickets as the major fundraising event. Thus far, some great prizes have been collected including Holiday World passes, Indianapolis Children’s Museum passes, a Hamilton Beach Duel Brew coffeemaker, Peg Perego John Deere front loader tractor, Meijer gift card, DeBrand’s gift card, a Cuisinart kitchen utensil basket, a Kitchenaid kitchen utensil basket, Best Buy gift card, and baskets from K&K Video. However, the Town is continuously collecting more items. Tickets will be sold for $1 apiece from April 9 until May 30 with the raffle drawing occurring at Movie Night. Tickets will be available at the Utility Office, Sheets & Childs Funeral Home, during most Youth League games (sold by people wearing neon shirts with “PARK RAFFLE”), and at Movie Night.
Help the Park achieve its goal of providing a play place for all children to enjoy! Get your tickets today!
