OLUSTEE –Over the past 16 years, Olustee officials have taken steps to upgrade the town’s park.
When Town Clerk Kim Keller started working for Olustee in 2005, the park’s amenities included a library, swings, basketball courts and a small A-frame pavilion.
But Keller, who had young children at the time, thought the park needed an upgrade.
“I wanted to make a difference, and so I drew a picture for the board of what my ideas were to make the park community-friendly and enhance the beauty of the town,” Keller said in a recent email. “They loved it and said, ‘Make it happen!’”
The town started raising money and writing grants for park improvements in 2008, and the upgrades began the following year.
Over the next several years, the town added a playground and play equipment, a walkway, benches and picnic tables.
They later raised funds and wrote grants for additional park improvements. Those projects included planting 14 trees and building a gazebo.
Currently, Olustee is fixing up the interior of the library with new paint and ceiling fans. The books will be moved back into the building when the weather is warmer.
FUNDING
Town officials relied on a combination of donations, grants and a loan to pay for the new playground, which cost about $41,000, Keller said. The gazebo cost about $31,000, which was covered by a mix of donations, grants and awards.
Funding for the other projects came from a combination of donations and town dollars.
FUTURE PROJECTS
Additional upgrades to the park are in the works, Keller said.
“We will be adding to the walking path to extend around the basketball court, and we will be concreting the other side of the basketball court,” she said in a recent email. “We will probably be planting more trees as well and lights along the sidewalks farther down the road.”