Salina parks staff to seek Pathways grant for accessible pathways and inclusive playground at Indian Rock Park

Parks and Recreation staff said they will apply for a Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways grant to add concrete, accessible pathways and a large inclusive playground at Indian Rock Park, a project the department plans to phase over several years.

The presentation to the Salina Parks & Recreation Advisory Board described a conceptual layout for an approximately 8,000‑square‑foot playground in the park’s northwest corner, connected to existing trails and parking by paved pathways rather than the current gravel routes. The staff presenter said proceeds from a planned sale of Glenifer Hill Park land, a Pathways grant (up to $50,000), and the department’s scheduled playground replacement funding (currently targeted for 2027) are the potential funding sources under consideration.

Why it matters: an accessible pathway and an inclusive playground would make the park usable for people with a range of physical abilities and create a destination play site in the northeast part of the city. The board heard that the proposal aligns with the department’s playground‑replacement plan and that staff intend to pursue the grant as an early‑phase infrastructure investment.

Parks staff said the grant application process requires the department to identify “populations of focus” and outreach methods. A grants coordinator for the city participated in the presentation; staff said they have hired an architect to produce a preliminary design and will use that draft to gather feedback from disability advocates and other affected groups before formal submission. “We need to apply in March. That’s the timeline they outlined for us,” a Parks and Recreation staff member said during the meeting.

Staff described the department’s intended approach: provide a footprint and inclusive design goals, then solicit detailed design proposals from playground manufacturers and designers. The board asked whether staff or the city would produce a finished playground design for the grant; staff replied that manufacturers typically produce specific layouts once asked to bid, and that the city lacks the internal capacity to produce a full manufacturer‑level playground design beforehand.

Board members raised accessibility concerns beyond pathways, including the distance to existing seasonal restrooms and the placement of parking and shelter‑house facilities in later phases. Staff acknowledged those concerns and said the phased plan includes potential future parking and a shelter house with restrooms in the playground area. The presenter asked the board for feedback about how to reach populations of focus and whether the board would take an advisory role in outreach and design filtering.

Next steps: staff will identify target populations for outreach, produce a preliminary design with the hired architect, complete grant materials by the March application window, and seek a resolution of support from the governing body early in the year. No formal board vote was taken on the grant application during the meeting.