Walnut Beach: Ashtabula County Board of Developmental Disabilities groundbreaking ceremony held for inclusive playground

Apr. 17—ASHTABULA — The Ashtabula County Board of DD broke ground on an inclusive playground at Walnut Beach on a sunny Tuesday afternoon.

The project began with the board requesting ARPA funding through the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.

"We submitted a request for just over $630,000 that will allow us to complete 14 different projects," said Community Outreach Education Specialist Manda Jackson. "The inclusive playground just happens to be the largest project. This is one of the first that the community will see."

The strict timeline for the grant requires the Ashtabula Board of DD to use the funding for the playground before January 2025.

"We're fortunate enough that Ashtabula city was willing to allow Walnut Beach to be one of the options and eventually the selection," Jackson said. "To have access to a playground where everybody can be included is the goal."

The playground will be 150 by 90 feet and there will be an accessible paved pathway to the parking lot.

Local residents and disability support workers said that it's nice that there will finally be somewhere inclusive for children with physical challenges to go and enjoy themselves.

"There's nothing like it in our whole county," said Rachel Christine.

Christine's daughter Lyndi Christine uses a wheelchair.

"The only thing she can do [currently] is play on the bigger-sized swing," Christine said. "We went to Lakeshore Park the other day and she cried, because her little brother was playing on the playground and the most she could do was sit and watch."

That will soon change.

"It's really important for the kiddos to have something inclusive that they can utilize and share within Ashtabula," said Service and Support Administrator Kathleen Gates. "We're super excited for this."

City officials were in attendance for the ceremony.

"We're really excited about this partnership," said City Manager Jim Timonere. "Manda and I started the conversation about how to make the city parks more accessible. The first project we did together was Mobi-mats that we put out on our beach. It extends our boardwalk so that people can get closer to the water.

According to Jackson, the targeted completion date for the playground is by this fall.

"We [the city] are thrilled to be selected by the committee to bring a great product to the county," Timonere said. "We think this a wonderful location for the park."