By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
One of the first extra features requested by the community for the Grayson Sports Park was a sensory garden – a place where autistic children and others who might experience sensory overload could get away from the noise and excitement of ball games or amphitheatre performances. The group behind the initial push, Family and Friends of Autism, is now ready to move forward with those plans in the next phases of park development.
They’re working on a variety of funding sources for the garden, including donations from Pathways and other groups, and partnering with the Carter County Kiwanis Club on projects that could qualify them for a matching funds grant through FIVCO.
The garden, which needs to be set apart from the noise of the rest of the park, but still integrated into the overall design, could feature amenities like benches, picnic tables, raised bed gardens, hanging pods under a shelter area, a fountain, visual tunnel, tactile wall, xylophone, climbing stones, and other sensory devices split into courtyards dedicated to taste and smell, sound, touch, and sight based stimulation.
While the main purpose is to give children a place to seek shelter from overstimulation, or to find stimulation that calms them, the garden could be used by anyone.
“It doesn’t just benefit kids,” explained Shanna Stamm, with the Family and Friends of Autism. The sensory garden can also be beneficial for older people suffering from dementia, adults who need a quiet place to think, or an upset teen who needs a place to decompress after an intense ball game, she said.
While she said her initial design is not to scale, and is open to change, there are certain things that the space absolutely needs, and others she’d really like to see if possible.
“It needs to be handicap accessible,” she said.
She’d also like to see a fountain or other water feature, if possible, because the sound of the flowing water can be soothing for some.
Another thing she’d like to see, space permitting, is a nearby bathroom equipped with an adult sized changing table. While most restrooms have changing tables that can support babies and toddlers, they aren’t large or sturdy enough to accommodate older special needs children or adults. Some parents, Stamm said, carry newspapers and other items with them to put onto the floor before changing their larger children. She said she’d like to give them the dignity of not having to lie down in a bathroom floor to have their needs attended to.
“I don’t know if we have the room,” she said. “But I would like those.”
What was most important to her, though, was providing a space that – while separate – felt like it belonged rather than tacked on.
“I want it to look like it belongs in the park,” she said.
Park manager Grant Harper said they could definitely look at options, and that he already had an area in mind for the sensory garden that was set a bit apart from the rest of the park, but still nearby a rest room, the playground, and adjacent to handicap accessible parking and sidewalks. He said it shouldn’t be hard to incorporate something like Stamm’s design into the existing park as development of the land moves forward.
County attorney Brian Bayes, who also serves on the Family and Friends of Autism group, discussed the 50/50 matching grant from FIVCO which could help fund the project and other additions to the park. He said he had already spoken with mayor George Steele and judge executive Mike Malone and both the city and county were willing to serve as passthroughs for the grant funds.
Harper noted that he was also seeking a land and water grant which required him to meet several criteria, and while the park is “already checking boxes” related to the requirements of the grant, the addition of the sensory garden and the Kiwanis handicap accessible playground equipment could help them show the park is designed to be accessible – which is one of the land and water grant requirements.
Though fundraising is beginning now, because of the way grant cycles work and existing grant disbursement delays related to COVID, Harper said he didn’t see construction on the sensory garden beginning until probably some time early next year. It could be a component of the next phase of development for the park, however.
In related action the board moved to approve the Family and Friends of Autism’s fundraising Autism Walk in the sports park, on May 21, at 10 a.m.
In related news Harper gave an update on the splash pad progress, noting there are two pieces left to install. They plan to test the splash pad plumbing next week and have it open to the public by Memorial Day weekend, if they get approval of the final install from Frankfort. He said the splash pad area would include a fence, for the safety of children playing there, as well as a pea gravel barrier to help drainage and keep mud at a minimum.
Harper also gave an update on the artificial turf, which has been installed. He said it was “extremely multipurpose,” noting they “can play anything from t-ball to college baseball or softball” on the field, because of movable barriers and fences. The field is handicap accessible as well, which means they could look at a Miracle Field designation in the future, which would allow them to host events for special needs athletes.
Harper said they have one championship soccer field ready for play, but that the remaining areas, which are on the edges of the flood zone, are being left as multi-use fields. He said those fields could be repainted as needed for football, soccer, or “whatever the need is.”
With the installation of the artificial turn, and the pending completion of the splash pad, Harper said, the park is nearing the completion of what he called “phase one” improvements.
In phase two, he said, major focuses would be the walking track and asphalt paving of parking lot and road surfaces, which would be done if sections. It would also include increased curbing, drainage, and landscape islands, he said, helping improve the aesthetics and usability of the park.
He said while the blacktop will be a welcome addition, especially to avoid mud during rainy weather, they didn’t want to do the blacktop too early. There has been construction ongoing in the park, he said, which would have “destroyed” any blacktop that might have already been poured. This is also why he wishes to blacktop the park in phases. Not only will it allow them to stagger costs, but it allows them to leave areas that might still need heavy equipment traffic without blacktop until after that work is completed.
He said the park already sees a lot of walkers, making using of the 5K track, but that a dedicated walking track would be another significant part of the phase two improvements.
In other park news the board discussed a need to determine how much to keep in the maintenance reserve for the park, and discussed pursuing non-profit status for the park directly rather than continuing to operate under the umbrella of the Recreation Alliance.
In other tourism news, Don Combs gave an update on the Blue Goose building, and held discussions regarding a web page for the space, which should launch soon. He also discussed quotes for painting, for the installation of a fence and gates around the lot area, and other improvements in the area. While some work still needs done on the interior, including a possible roof replacement that would allow the removal of a central support wall – opening up more floor space on the first floor, Combs said they have already had interested vendors reaching out for information on the space.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
