Bullard breaks ground on new community playground

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September 7, 2012

Bullard breaks ground on new community playground

Faith Harper Jacksonville Daily Progress The Jacksonville Daily Progress Fri Sep 07, 2012, 08:18 AM CDT

BULLARD — With fundraising estimated to be 70 percent complete, the Bullard Rotary Club broke ground on the Bullard Community Kid's Park Thursday evening.

The playground was designed using ideas from Bullard ISD and Brook Hill students and sketched by Leathers and Associates, a architecture firm specializing in playgrounds.

Guy Martin, rotary club member, said the original project was projected to cost about $250,000 but specific donors and community members requested bathrooms, a pavilion and extra seating to be added to the space, bringing the cost up to around $315,000.

The equipment will be put together using an estimated 1,200 volunteers over a four-day period, from Jan. 16 to Jan. 20, 2013, but the groundbreaking will give the group an opportunity to prep the site before swings and monkey bars can be constructed.

Martin said several contractors have stepped forward to donate their time, and much of the construction materials came from generous donors as well.

“We have a lot of the infrastructure work donated,” Martin said. “That's big dollar stuff, so that is really good. … We are talking electrical, water, sewer, drainage, lighting, that kind thing.”

Martin said he estimates around $200,000 has been raised, including $10,000 donated by the city of Bullard. He said that's not bad for a town of around 2,000 residents.

“I think (support has) been great,” he said. “I think once we started turning some dirt out there more and more people will know about that and we will finish the fundraising and have the park ready in January.”

Martin said in about three weeks equipment will start showing up on the property on the other side of the tennis courts from the current park in Bullard, and the project will be completed no matter how much is raised. He said if the group falls short of its goal, the park will be scaled back and if more is raised, there is room for additions.

Fundraising will continue until Nov. 3, through the sale of wooden pickets, which will be used as a border around the grounds. The pickets can be engraved with a child's name or a family name for $50.

The club is also selling tiles, which will have children's hand prints on them, to form a border around the top of the fence, for $25 each.

Residents interested in purchasing a picket or a tile should call 903.707.2183 for more information.

Checks should be made payable to the East Texas Communities Foundation and mailed to P.O. Box 913 Bullard, Texas 75757 and be accompanied by an official donation form which will permit the return of the documents needed for income tax deductibility. Residents can request one of these forms to be mailed or emailed by calling 903-707-2183. Forms are also available at Bullard City Hall.

To sign up to be a volunteer to help build, call Ashlee Jones, volunteer coordinator, at 903-707-6509 or send a message through the project's Facebook page at facebook.com/bullardtexascommunityplayground.com.

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Bullard breaks ground on new community playground

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