SNAP Project Begins Construction for Entrance

Here is the article from the Hartselle Courier Journal, dated January 4, 2012:

By Jennifer R. Hill

Hartselle Courier Journal, dated January 4, 2012

Jennifer.Hill@hartsellecourierjournal.com

The John Mark Stallings Special Needs Accessible Playground is entering the third and final phase of construction. Phase three will be built in two increments, first, the entry way under construction now, and lastly, the main playground area projected to be finished by the end of 2012. Morgan County Commission District 2 has prepared the ground for the concrete floors of the entry way to be poured this week, provided that weather is good, SNAP project manager Bob Francis said.

The main entrance will serve as a center for donor recognition, as well as, display a memorial plaque dedicated in memory of John Mark Stallings, Francis said.

The project began simply in 2002 when the Civitan Club of Hartselle decided to purchase special swing sets. In 2006, the four civic clubs of Hartselle - Civitan, Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary -came together with a bigger vision, Francis said.

“When you begin to do something like this, you begin to think we can do more,” he said.

The four clubs united, with several partners and donations throughout Morgan County, and did a lot more.

The SNAP playground is a multiuse playground for children of all abilities, located in Hartselle behind the Sparkman Civic Center. There is a swing area, completed in 2008, with wheelchair accessible swings, and a splash pad area completed in 2010, which is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day each year. An accessible pavilion was complete in June 2011. There is no fee for use of the playground or splash pad.

The completed facility will have 68 total features incorporating “12 types of play for balanced child development” including, auditory/sound, balancing, brachiating, chinning, climbing, gathering/social, imaginative, manipulative, rocking, sliding, spinning and swinging.

The third phase will cost an estimated $263,515 bringing the approximate total of the complete project to $800,000.

“The target [for completing the main playground] was 2012, but it’s probably going to be pushed,” Francis said. “It depends on grants and fundraisers.”

To be a part of phase three of SNAP contact Sparkman Civic Center at (256) 773-2581. Send donations to SNAP, P.O. Box 512, Hartselle, Ala., 35640. Find out more about the playground at www.snapplayground.org.