Clara Miller Park to get new play equipment soon

The village of Wolverine Lake’s Clara Miller Park may get a new play structure this spring.

An anonymous park user nominated Clara Miller Park for a Perk Up the Park grant. The village’s Parks and Recreation Commission was notified in the late summer that Clara Miller Park would be the recipient of a $1,000 grant.

Once the Parks and Recreation Commission began researching what type of equipment would be best, a Camel Climber was recommended to the Wolverine Lake Village Council.

“We looked at a number of options so we would get the biggest bang for the buck and voted on the Camel Climber because it’s colorful and something fun for the kids to climb on,” said Parks and Recreation Commission Chairperson Lynn Lewis.

The Camel Climber, which is about the size of a large slide, is named after to the humps on the structure that the children can climb up and down.

The cost for the equipment exceeded the $1,000 grant award, but the Village Council voted on Nov. 14 to pay the $300 balance.

“One-thousand dollars for safety and commercial play improvement equipment doesn’t buy a whole lot,” Lewis said.

The purchase is contingent on Village Administrator Sharon Miller checking with the insurance carrier as standard practice.

The Department of Public Works will be installing the equipment and putting down pea gravel at the site for safety purposes prior to use.

The goal is to install the equipment this coming spring.