The Berrien Community Foundation has announced a challenge grant for the Silver Beach Playground project.
As the Berrien County Parks department seeks to raise funds for the new playground equipment, donations from the public will be matched by the community foundation up to $50,000. BCF Program Director Susan Matheny told the Berrien County Board of Commissioners Thursday the organization is glad to help.
“The Silver Beach Playground Project is going to improve those playground equipment at the beach and make it more inclusive to all abilities,” Matheny said. “Our goal at the foundation, of course, is to help Berrien County be the very best it can be and to help resources meet needs. We feel that this really aligns with everything we hope our community will be.”
The parks department has received a state grant of $850,000 for the playground, and the total cost for the project will be about $1.2 million. The parks department is taking donations online to reach the goal.
The current playground at Silver Beach was built in 1991 and is becoming more expensive to repair and maintain. The goal is to have new playground equipment installed by next summer.
Meanwhile, the St. Joseph City Commission this week tabled a Planned Unit Development amendment for the park to allow for the new playground, giving the project a bit of a setback. The city commission wants talks with the county about improving traffic at the beach before the playground project can move forward.
Berrien County Board of Commissioners Chair Mac Elliott on Thursday questioned whether the improvements at the park should be “held hostage” for anything to do with improving traffic flow.
The county must have contractors in place for the playground work by the end of the year, or it could lose the $850,000 state grant.
