Soda Springs breaks ground on new community playground

On Friday, the snow and cold weather didn’t stop a groundbreaking ceremony in Soda Springs from happening.

The Friends of the Soda Springs City Park broke ground on the new playground and splash pad.

The playground is designed for all ages and abilities, including those with disabilities and special needs. The committee said they got the idea because of several special needs kids in their own community with nowhere to play.

At the groundbreaking, there were several rounds of shovels lifting dirt, making sure that all donors and those who had contributed their efforts were a part of the celebration.

The total cost for both the new playground and splash pad is $350,000 total. So far, $198,000 has been raised. The committee said they held the groundbreaking Friday to show continued support and encouragement for fundraising efforts. The committee said it’s confident it can raise the rest of the money by May. It also wanted to hold the groundbreaking before the snow hit and the spring came, which is a busy time for many people.

Committee members said the support so far has been great.

“The support has been tremendous,” said Roger Gibson, plant manager from Monsanto, who is both a donor and committee member for the playground. “From local small businesses, large businesses, private individuals, we’ve got the whole range of support and its’ been really gratifying to see the community come together like this.”

The plan is to start building the playground in May. The week of May 28 through June 2 will be a community build where anyone and everyone can come together to participate and help build the playground.

The committee says they’re excited to see it come to fruition and make their dream playground a reality for the community.

“It’s a beautiful concept,” Gibson said. “It’ll be great for the community, it’ll bring the community together with the build and then be a resource for this community for a long time to come.”

“iIm so excited,” said Kara Harris, a committee member. “I’m somewhat emotional about it because it’s so dear to my heart ya know? We designed this for every kid, for every special needs kid, and it doesn’t matter if you are or if you’re not special needs, it’s a great opportunity for kids to come and play.”

And the kids can’t wait either.

They’re excited to see a new and improved playground come to town.

More information on the group and questions about donations can be directed here, to the group’s Facebook page.