This concept image shows some of the wheelchair-accessible playground equipment planned at the St. Johns County Police Athletic League's new playground. | St. Johns County
Published on December 3, 2024 at 2:46 pm
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Another accessible place to play is on the way in St. Johns County.
The County Commission agreed Tuesday to commit nearly $2.2 million toward the construction of a new “all-inclusive” playground on the county’s southwest side.
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The planned playground, called Diamond of Dreams, comes from the county’s Police Athletic League. The PAL plans to open public playground equipment, a multiuse field and a baseball diamond, all designed to be wheelchair accessible.
The plans for the new playground are welcome news to Michael Shrusbaugh, a St. Augustine resident raising a child with disabilities. He says the community of children with disabilities in St. Johns County is greatly underserved.
“There’s only one park in St. Johns County that I can take my daughter to,” he told the Board of County Commissioners.
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That playground, the only other designed for children with disabilities, is Aberdeen Park on the other side of St. Johns County, some 30 miles from the new playground planned at the Police Athletic League complex at 3105 Allen Nease Road.
Not only is it closer to home for Shrusbaugh and his daughter, he believes it fits with the mission of the Police Athletic League.
“As a retired law enforcement officer of 30 years,” Shrusbaugh said, “there’s nothing more passionate than connecting community with their law enforcement resources and what they can do for our kids.”
The County Commission unanimously OK’d the move to commit $2.2 million from the $51.2 million St. Johns County received from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act. The PAL has also received another $6 million worth of appropriations for the project, and they hope the state Legislature will commit another $1 million during the next legislative session.
County Commissioner Christian Whitehurst said the funds were well worth the impact the playground will have on children for generations to come.
“It’s a worthwhile endeavor just to make the difference that I know this will make in these children’s lives,” Whitehurst said.
In addition to funding the PAL’s new playground, the County Commission agreed Tuesday to allocate $2 million of the federal dollars designed for bouncing back from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to the county’s purchase of the World Golf Village property.
