News

Flat Rock Village allocates $512K for playground, pavilion

Contributed rendering A new playground at the Park at Flat Rock will include boulders and towers to climb.

By Bill Moss, Published: October 15, 2015

John Dockendorf, who runs an adventure company that takes teenagers on challenging outdoor trips, likes to quote studies showing that kids spend eight hours a day looking at electronic devices.

A new playground in Flat Rock, he says, may be one step in curbing that use and luring kids outside. Unlike a conventional playground, the play area at the Park at Flat Rock is made of almost entirely natural materials. Only the sliding boards are made of plastic. It has boulders, a wall and a berm to climb plus a big pipe to crawl through.
“The theme of this playground is it’s designed to be a physical playground where kids kind of work at getting better at the activities,” Dockendorf said. “It’s designed to draw kids into the parkBy BILL MOSS
Lightning Editor
John Dockendorf, who runs an adventure company that takes teenagers on challenging outdoor trips, likes to quote studies showing that kids spend eight hours a day looking at electronic devices.
A new playground in Flat Rock, he says, may be one step in curbing that use and luring kids outside. Unlike a conventional playground, the play area at the Park at Flat Rock is made of almost entirely natural materials. Only the sliding boards are made of plastic. It has boulders, a wall and a berm to climb plus a big pipe to crawl through.
“The theme of this playground is it’s designed to be a physical playground where kids kind of work at getting better at the activities,” Dockendorf said. “It’s designed to draw kids into the park and to extend their time outdoors. We’re trying to make it more fun than electronics.”
The playground was part of a big spending commitment the Village Council authorized last week to add the next major attractions to the town park. The council voted to spend $260,000 on the playground, which was $60,000 more than the council budgeted, and $252,000 on a pavilion, which was $41,000 over budget. A large part of the cost of both projects, however, will be covered by the Flat Rock Park Foundation, a nonprofit agency the Village Council created to raise money for park improvements.
The foundation has raised an
eye-popping $485,000 already. Donations from Cam and Sally Boyd and the Perry Rudnick Foundation have paid for a community room and the deck of the Welcome Center
and a donation from a Flat Rock couple, Kendall Gibson Bryan and Eleanor deSaussure Bryan, is covering most of the playground cost.
“The generosity of the world at large has really been very gratifying,” Duncan Fraser, president of the Park Foundation, told the Village Council. “We’ve raised a lot of money. We anticipate raising a lot more. Your investment of $200,000 would raise almost a half million dollars” in pledges and gifts. “We look
forward to the state participating with us” in the form of a state parks grant.
Dockendorf also praised the council for its commitment to quality improvements.
“Is this the best playground in the world? No,” Dockendorf told the council. “But it will be the best in Henderson, Transylvania, Polk and Buncombe counties. We’ll be able to say Flat Rock really made a commitment to something nice.”
On top of the current cash and pledges, the foundation is seeking donations to pay for a second playground phase to be developed around a berm.
“We have several people that have expressed interest in that particular feature,” foundation director Maurean Adams said.
and to extend their time outdoors. We’re trying to make it more fun than electronics.”
The playground was part of a big spending commitment the Village Council authorized last week to add the next major attractions to the town park. The council voted to spend $260,000 on the playground, which was $60,000 more than the council budgeted, and $252,000 on a pavilion, which was $41,000 over budget. A large part of the cost of both projects, however, will be covered by the Flat Rock Park Foundation, a nonprofit agency the Village Council created to raise money for park improvements.
The foundation has raised an
eye-popping $485,000 already. Donations from Cam and Sally Boyd and the Perry Rudnick Foundation have paid for a community room and the deck of the Welcome Center
and a donation from a Flat Rock couple, Kendall Gibson Bryan and Eleanor deSaussure Bryan, is covering most of the playground cost.
“The generosity of the world at large has really been very gratifying,” Duncan Fraser, president of the Park Foundation, told the Village Council. “We’ve raised a lot of money. We anticipate raising a lot more. Your investment of $200,000 would raise almost a half million dollars” in pledges and gifts. “We look
forward to the state participating with us” in the form of a state parks grant.
Dockendorf also praised the council for its commitment to quality improvements.
“Is this the best playground in the world? No,” Dockendorf told the council. “But it will be the best in Henderson, Transylvania, Polk and Buncombe counties. We’ll be able to say Flat Rock really made a commitment to something nice.”
On top of the current cash and pledges, the foundation is seeking donations to pay for a second playground phase to be developed around a berm.
“We have several people that have expressed interest in that particular feature,” foundation director Maurean Adams said.