The No. 1 requirement the board had for the new piece of playground equipment in Seymour was simple.
The Arc of Jackson County wanted any person of any age to be able to enjoy it while visiting the park.
Thanks to three agencies and 14 donors, any person visiting Gaiser Park will soon be able to enjoy a ride together.
A Sway Fun Glider is being installed and will soon be ready for use next to the volleyball courts and adjacent to the playground, Seymour Parks and Recreation Department Director Bob Tabeling said during a recent board meeting.
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The boat-shaped glider works like a swing, using motion to sway those on board. A ramp is attached to the glider, allowing children and adults to walk or roll onto the equipment.
There is room for two wheelchairs, plus two large benches for other passengers, on the glider. Tabeling said the glider is about 7 feet wide and 11 feet long and is freestanding on a concrete base.
According to the company’s website, the glider is designed to build sensory, motor, cognitive, social and emotional skills.
The Arc made the decision to bring in the piece of equipment.
"Jackson County has playground equipment that is accommodating to children with disabilities that Cars and Guitars has installed at a few different parks, but we didn’t have anything that was accommodating to adults with special needs or disabilities," said Melanie O’Neal, executive director of The Arc of Jackson Count. "That is something we as a board decided we wanted to invest in for our community."
Jim Shepherd, president of The Arc board, said the organization hopes to get more inclusive pieces installed throughout the county in the future.
"The cost is substantial, and a lot of it will depend on funding down the road," he said. "I think our goal has always been to have some handicap-accessible piece of equipment at every park. That’s including Brownstown, Medora, Crothersville, everywhere in Jackson County."
All together, the glider project cost around $60,000. The equipment cost $31,895, and The Arc put up the first $20,000.
O’Neal said 14 other organizations and individuals helped fund the remaining balance.
Cars and Guitars funded the flooring, which cost $17,000, and the parks and recreation department put forward $12,000 for area prep and new sidewalks, Tabeling said.
O’Neal said an all-inclusive piece could be added to another park in the near future, as she recently became aware of a large grant that would help pay for another attraction.
"(The grant) would include an area near our new piece or at a different location that would include different musical pieces," O’Neal said. "Those are used as sensory tools for calming. There is a grant available for that, and I’m in the infant stages of going through that."
O’Neal said they hope to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the glider this fall.