Plans move forward for outdoor fitness park in Lincoln
Debut fitness challenge and ribbon cut scheduled for August 16th

 

[June 22, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

At the Monday night voting session of the Lincoln City Council, aldermen by unanimous vote approved a resolution that will pave the way to the construction of an outdoor fitness center in Lincoln.

The court is being constructed and funded by the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital Foundation and Community Health Collaborative on the Eighth Street property that was the site of the old ALMH.

The process began in February when Angela Stoltzenburg attended a meeting of the city council seeking permission to use a small section of the now empty lot owned by the city to construct an outdoor fitness area.

She explained that the project was part of the National Fitness Campaign, and that the “Fitness Mat” would be among the first in Illinois. The project she said would cost approximately $150,000. The CHC and the foundation would be footing $140,000 and were anticipating a $10,000 grant from FitRadio.

The city would be asked to cover the cost of maintenance, which Stoltzenburg said would be $1,000 to $2,000 annually for power washing all the equipment. The city would be the named recipient on the grant, but the Foundation and CHC would manage the money and pay for the installation.

At that time in February, aldermen had questions about liability issues and lighting in the area. They gave Stoltzenburg a nod to move forward with researching the project details.

In the meantime, aldermen also considered how they would designate the area for proper policing.

They determined that the area needed to be designated as a city park so that a curfew could be established and enforced by local police. The question then became did they designate the entire block, or just the area where the fitness mat would be located.

In addition, concerns arose about how the park designation would impact the Lincoln Park District. The LPD is responsible for mowing and caring for all city parks. The council members discussed concerns over placing an additional burden on the park district and felt there needed to be discussion with the park district on that topic before a decision was made.

In recent weeks, the aldermen reviewed the resolution establishing the city park area and permitting the construction of the fitness mat.

They concluded that the entire block could and would be designated as a city park, but that if there came a time when someone wished to purchase the balance of the property for development, the ordinance could be reversed and re-written to accommodate development.

Alderman Michelle Bauer had also reported that she had met with city attorney Blinn Bates and had reviewed the contract with the park district which she referred to as ‘very loose’ and kind of like a ‘handshake’ agreement. She said she didn’t believe the park designation would have an impact on that contract or the park district at this time.

When the motion came to a vote, all eight aldermen were present and voted ‘yes’ to permit the construction of the fitness mat.

At the June meeting of the Community Health Collaborative, Stoltzenburg announced that the CHC and Foundation are ready to move forward with the installation. A large sign has been placed at the corner location where the fit mat will be placed and a grand opening is being planned for August 16th.

[Nila Smith]

Discussion after that meeting revealed that the grand opening event will take place on the 16th in the evening. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. then there will be a fitness challenge for those in attendance, offering a great opportunity for folks to get a feel for what the new park has to offer.

Stoltzenburg said there will be more information released about the opening day ceremony and fitness challenge as details become available.

The fitness mat will be located on the northeast corner of the 300 block of Eight Street. The lot adjoins parking spaces owned by St. John United Church of Christ. Visitors to the fitness mat will be permitted to use that parking area.