Both the Maryland House and Senate voted to approve bond bills in the amount of $100,000 to help finance the construction of Angel Park, an all-access playground planned for Perry Hall. Legislators from the 7th and 8th districts collaborated to get the measures approved, netting $200,000 toward the $1.5-million project.
Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R-7) noted that this was a bipartisan effort, with herself and fellow Republicans Rick Impallaria, John Cluster and Christian Miele working with Democrat Eric Bromwell to sponsor the measure. Across the state house in the Senate, Democrat Kathy Klausmeier and Republican J.B. Jennings pushed for their bill.
“I’m thrilled. I really can’t be more proud of the community and all the groups that have come together,” Del. Szeliga said. “I believe this park will be something Perry Hall is proud to have.
“Passing legislation is never easy, but there was a lot of support behind this,” she continued. “The Assembly felt that, number one, the project was funded to such a tremendous level by the community, when a lot of times you get people who say ‘well, give us this money and then we’ll do fundraisers.’ And number two, it was shovel ready.”
According to Angel Park Planning Co-Chair Kelli Szyczbor, the campaign has $823,000 in the bank, with another $120,000 pledged. This leaves $400,000 to go to reach their fundraising total.
Szyczbor and three other committee members travelled to Annapolis on Saturday, March 14, to testify in both the House and the Senate about their project and why it should receive funds.
“It was a neat experience testifying in Annapolis. You only get a few minutes to sum up this awesome project that you’ve spent so much time on,” she commented. She also noted that Szeliga and Jennings, who introduced them, as well as Bromwell and Klausmeier were very supportive throughout the process.
“[The legislators] said they could see our passion for it, and that it is going to be a unique playground,” Szyczbor recalled.
As previously reported in the East County Times, Angel Park will be an all-access playground, meaning that children of all abilities, including those with special needs, can play together. The equipment and layout will be designed to accommodate everyone’s needs under the guidance of New York-based Leathers & Associates. The staff at Leathers & Associates, along with Angel Park committee volunteers, solicited suggestions from over 4,000 area schoolchildren to find out what elements they would like to see in a playground, and many of these ideas were included in the final design.
The park will be located on 2.5 acres of land acquired by the county through a land swap agreement in 2012. Also on the property will be a 200-seat amphitheater that will allow community groups to present outdoor concerts, plays and other shows. The amphitheater is financed by a gift from the Cole Foundation.
The 2012 land transfer was approved by County Councilman David Marks (R-5), who Szczybor says has been a big supporter of the project from the beginning, offering advice and guidance to the committee.
“We’ve worked with our state legislators to obtain funding for worthwhile projects in the past, and I applaud my colleagues for supporting Angel Park,” he stated. “The community has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to build Angel Park, and I believe government should support that type of private sector support.”
The website, www.Angel-Park.org, allows for community members to donate money or pay for individual pieces of equipment in honor of their loved ones, the angels we all have in our lives for whom the park is named, said Szczybor.
For her, that angel is her son Ryan, who she lost to leukemia at the age of 15 months.
“This whole project is all about the community. My son’s memory is what’s pushing me and inspiring me, but in the end it’s about the whole community and coming together,” she declared.
Szczybor said that they hope to begin construction on Angel Park the first week of September. Hundreds of community volunteers will be needed to build the park, she said. Those interested in helping can visit the Angel Park website or contact Michelle Streckfus at shellestreck@gmail.com.
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