Sherwood Receives Grant to Fund New Playground Structure

Sherwood Rotary Club Provides City with $50,000 Grant

One of Sherwood’s oldest parks will be receiving an exciting new play structure next spring thanks in large part to a grant submitted on behalf of the City by Renee Brouse, service chair for the Rotary Club of Sherwood. 

The Rotary Club of Sherwood raises money annually through the Annual Bare Root Tree Sale and offer grants to various groups in our community such as the Boy Scouts, the Refuge, Sherwood High School scholarships, Future Farmers of America, Sherwood Regional YMCA, Faith in Action, the Senior Center and much more.  The club also participates in an international program with a sister club in La Plata, Huila, Colombia.  They have been looking for a local project that we could have a huge impact financially and with 'sweat equity' and the Murdock Park project meets those goals.  “As we celebrate 20 years of serving the community we can celebrate by updating the park playground equipment at Murdoch Park,” stated Renee Brouse from the club.

The current play structure at Murdock Park, located on the corner of SW Upper Roy St. and SW Williams Avenue has been providing the neighborhood with fun since 1998.  This play structure has reached the end of its expected life cycle and will be replaced with a new structure that caters to the developing needs of today’s youth. 

“Today’s playgrounds need to compete with video games, televisions and other sedentary activities to capture the attention of the 21st century child,” states Lynn Johnson, a Certified Playground Safety Inspector.  “Playgrounds need to keep-up with the child’s advancing motor skills, body awareness, and hand-eye coordination.  Plus, kids have more fun when they have to figure something out.”

The predominantly favored play structure selected by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and voted on by the neighbors features a towering climbing rock, 2 twisty-turny slides, plenty of balance, climbing and hanging challenges complete with a unique club-house theme.  Along with the structure, Murdock Park will receive a new swing structure, a new concrete playground boarder with ADA ramps, and new engineered wood fiber surfacing.  The construction is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2014.

To view an artist’s rendering of the new structure, please visit the City of Sherwood’s website at www.sherwoodoregon.gov/parksrec “Although we are able to fund this playground replacement from project savings from the Snyder Park turf field replacement, this wonderful grant from one of our local Rotary clubs helps to stretch our resources further,” stated Joseph Gall, City Manager for the City of Sherwood.

For more information, please contact Craig Sheldon, Public Works Director for the City of Sherwood at 503 925-2310 or by email at sheldonc@sherwoodoregon.gov