BP Park Board part of $2.1M grant awards

For a committee dedicated to making Blooming Prairie’s Central Park a safe, healthy place to be, it was a breath of fresh air.

The BP Park Advisory Board received a $50,000 grant from South Country Health Alliance, a county-owned health plan that advocates for the health and well-being of people living in rural Minnesota.

Last week, it presented more than a half-million dollars in grant funds throughout Steele County, as part of its South Country Cares Community Impact Program.

The program provided a total of $2.16 million for initiatives that will benefit South Country members and other community members and help address the challenges and health disparities of living in rural Minnesota.

The Blooming Prairie group qualified for a grant “because of the aspect of promoting physical activity – getting kids off the iPad, off the screens, and getting outside,” said Leota Lind, CEO of South Country, which is headquartered in Medford.

“Up to 45% of the population we serve are kids,” she said, so the connection to a park was obvious.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support,” said Haley Tollefson, chair of the BP group. “So many people will get the benefits of this.”

While the newest equipment at the park is more than 30 years old – with some pieces dating back to the 70s or earlier – it’s a less glamorous update that tops the list.

An ADA-compliant bathroom with two stalls will be built, complete with a water fountain on the outside.

The plumbing is already there from bathrooms that were removed years ago, said Collette Lea, an advisory group member.

“They’re so needed,” she said. “There are a lot of daycares that don’t come to this park; they go to Firemen’s Park, which is smaller, but it has bathrooms.”

In addition, Blooming Prairie Elementary School students use the park during recess for some students.

“With the school right there, and every event that happens in town ends up landing here – having the bathrooms is a huge game-changer” for all generations, Tollefson said.

They’re hoping to break ground on the bathrooms this spring, she said, “when construction schedules align, which I’m told is kind of a tricky thing – getting plumbers, electricians and all together.”

Replacing the outdated playground equipment will have to wait “until we meet our fundraising goals,” Tollefson said, “and we’re getting close.

“Right now we are right around $127,000” raised, she said, with multiple bid requests out.

Some of the grants the group has applied for have required them to add to the project, Tollefson said.

“One wanted us to have internet in the park, solar charging stations so parents can come and work while the kids play,” she said, drawing a gasp from Lind.

“But that defeats the purpose,” Lind said. “We’re promoting family activities.”

Tollefson agreed, adding that the internet request also added to the total cost of the project.

“If we didn’t get that grant, obviously we’d take out some of those components,” she said, which could bring the cost down to about $350,000. “To us, it’s more important to get this going sooner rather than later; bids are only good for 30 days.”

The money already raised will be more than enough to build the new bathrooms.

“I think it’s important for people to see the progress,” Tollefson said, “especially if they’ve donated.”

The new equipment is also important – though it looks fine from a distance.

“The thing is, with safety protocols, once you start altering things, there are liability issues,” Tollefson said, pointing to a piece that used to have two slides. They were removed and now have plexiglass covering the openings to an eight-foot drop.

“This is 30 years old – and nobody in town feels like it’s that old, but our new part of town was started in 1990, and we’re still calling it ‘the new part,’” she said. “Things in town are always ‘new,’ until the next thing comes along. We’re little, so a lot of new things don’t come.”

An optimistic timeline for having all of the work done is a year to 18 months, the group believes.

“We’ve got a lot of other big grant (requests) out there that we’re hopeful about, and a lot of fundraising events that we’re doing locally,” Tollefson said.

Lind applauded the “great community support” behind the fundraising.

“It’s one of the advantages of living in a small town,” Tollefson said. “We get people who aren’t even living in town anymore asking how they can help. It’s cool that people still care, even after they move away.

“It’s happening, so we’re excited.”