Ignoring the frigid October wind, a group of children explored Empire’s new playground at Minton Park on Oct. 28, while town officials held a chilly ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the first improvements to the park in 20 years.
The town replaced the old playground equipment, made Minton Park disabled accessible, and added a basketball/multi-purpose court thanks to a $96,488 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado. In total, GOCO awarded $5.9 million to 27 projects around the state.
Town Clerk Jennifer Cade said the town hoped the playground would attract tourists and give local kids a place to burn off some energy.
Empire Mayor Wendy Koch said the proximity of the Easter Seals Rocky Mountain Village camp for adults and kids with disabilities helped influence Empire’s choice to make the playground wheelchair accessible.
Thinking big
“It’s a great park, and it shows what you can do when you set your mind to it, and by golly, we couldn’t have done it without Sue Hauser,” Koch said.
Hauser is the owner of Jenny’s Restaurant in Empire and one of the driving forces behind the project.
Hauser said the effort came about when the town decided to look for a grant from the Clear Creek Recreation District to replace some broken playground equipment. The district’s director, Dane Matthew, encouraged the town to think bigger and helped it apply for the GOCO grant.
Hauser said she stepped in when it came time to build the playground, and she quickly learned how a playground is built and how to get contractors to do the work.
“My role in it was writing requests for proposals, and deciding what we wanted and getting the people lined up to get it built,” Hauser said, adding her work on the project didn’t reflect on any official duties with the town.
“The hat that I was wearing was as a mother of two kids that grew up in Empire and now two grandkids,” Hauser said. “The park is a big part of most of the kids’ lives in this town, and it is something that they can play on safely.”
On the windy afternoon, Hauser was presented with a plaque recognizing both her and Matthew’s work on the project.
Hauser said it felt good to have the project completed.
“It was, not just for me but everybody involved, it was a lot of work, and it was a very big challenge,” Hauser said. “I feel like the town succeeded, and it wasn’t just me. It was the town board backing us, and the contractors going above and beyond. … There were a lot of people pulling for this.”
Contact Ian Neligh at couranteditor@evergreenco.com, and check www.clearcreek
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