LIMESTONE, Maine — Families are enjoying the new playground at Albert Michaud Memorial Park while the town finishes the last phase of a beautification project there.
Limestone Recreation Department began fundraising six years ago for new playground equipment at the park, which was originally built in 1974. The Limestone Development Foundation and the local chamber of commerce and Rotary Club got on board three years later.
The group rallied the community to raise $126,000, which was enough to purchase new playground equipment for children, adult exercise equipment and materials to create a new one-mile walking path around the park.
Volunteers installed the new playground equipment this summer, including slides and monkey bars for younger and older age children. It is just one piece of a larger revitalization project that aims to make the park fun and accessible for all ages, said Michelle Albert, president of the Limestone Development Foundation and Chamber.
Manufacturing delays mean that the adult exercise equipment and pieces of a small children’s merry-go-round might not arrive for several more months or even later.
All work at the park, including installation and landscaping, is being done by volunteers, which has also delayed the completion of the walking path. Many of the volunteers are local contractors and business owners who have not yet had time to work at the park, Albert said.
“This is a collaborative effort, and we appreciate everyone who has stepped up and said they will help,” Albert said. “I’d love to say that this will all be done before winter, but we’re taking it one thing at a time.”
If the project is done by this fall, the fundraising group will likely plan a grand opening event, Albert said.
