Design firm selected, group now seeking funds to build at park
Published in the November 25 – December 8, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Anna Gervacio
Anna Gervacio
Morgan Hill Inclusive Playground logo
The Morgan Hill Inclusive Playground Project continues to move forward with the goal to break ground next fall. What started with the vision of Ron and Shirlee Locicero has sparked the commitment of a group of dedicated volunteers and a strong partnership with the city of Morgan Hill.
On Nov. 4, the Morgan Hill City Council approved the selection of architectural firm Verde Design, Inc. to initiate the design of the playground. Verde Design was chosen by our group from a pool of six potential design firms that submitted proposals to design the playground.
Verde Design is a local Santa Clara firm that has provided design, planning and landscape architectural services throughout the Bay Area and Northern California for a number of years. Verde Design’s experience and accomplishments have included sports facilities, public parks and urban landscape. Most recently, the firm worked on two of the Bay Area’s premier inclusive playgrounds: Magical Bridge in Palo Alto and Rotary PlayGarden in San Jose. The firm’s experience and creativity places our project in good hands as we begin the process of turning our ideas and dreams for this playground into reality.
Our inclusive playground group also joined the Morgan Hill Community Foundation and we are now accepting donations under the umbrella of this nonprofit organization. We would like to thank our inaugural donors Gayla Althoff, the Gervacio family, the Ghione family, and the Sermersheim family, who provided the funds that made it possible for us to open our account with the foundation.
We embrace the “give where you live” philosophy of the community foundation and invite you to join us in making a lasting contribution to our community.
With the holiday giving season rapidly approaching, please consider our project in your end-of-year giving plans. We estimate the cost of the building the playground to be about $2 million dollars. However, a total cost will not be finalized until designs are completed in the spring. To date the city of Morgan Hill has approved $300,000 toward the construction of the park and the city council has approved providing two acres of land for the park at Community Park.
Behind these exciting developments stands our team of volunteers who have long been dedicated to the idea of this project. The central team is composed of seven individuals: Albert Balagso, Amber Biscardi, Anna Gervacio, Chris Ghione, Debbie Hernandez, Ron Locicero and Shirley Locicero. These individuals and many others are hard at work to gather the necessary funds and materials needed to make this playground a reality.
While the planning for this playground is off to a great start, there is still much more to do. Volunteers are needed to provide time, talent, and/or resources. We need support with fundraising efforts and are now looking for a grant writer. We are also looking to engage local artists to create art for the playground.
People interested in the project can attend the general information meetings held monthly and find other ways to join our team and get involved. The next general information meeting is 6 p.m. Wednesday Dec. 9 at the Morgan Hill City Council Chambers located at 17575 Peak Ave. One of the greatest achievements of playgrounds such as these is seeing all the work that different individuals put into the project, and seeing the physical results of an entire community coming together for one purpose.
Anna Gervacio is a member of the Morgan Hill Inclusive Playground Project group. She wrote this column for Morgan Hill Life.
