KING CITY — Dozens of children waited in line Saturday morning not only to receive a free candy medal, but also to enter King City’s newest park now stocked with playground equipment.
More than 100 community members attended the Aug. 19 grand opening of Forden Park, located on Canal Street between Rio Vista and Forden drives. After more than a year in development and raising funds through the Fun’ds for Forden Committee, the play structures were finally ready for the youngsters.
“It’s great to see so many people here today,” King City Mayor Mike LeBarre said. “We really appreciate you coming out and joining us for the opening of a new park for our community.”
Forden Committee members Sharlene Hughes, Cheryl Harrison, Linda Perez and Cheryl Silva were instrumental in bringing the new equipment to the park. They raised nearly $75,000 through donations and the selling of commemorative fence pickets that will line the park with the names of donors on them. Gonzales contractor Matt Gourley will install the pickets at no charge over the next few weeks.
The City of King City also contributed about $100,000 for the project.
“All of this is happening because local people stood together, started working together to find solutions for what betters our community. The city wants to appreciate and present a commendation to the Fun’ds for Forden Committee for all the hard work they have done,” LeBarre said before presenting a certificate of appreciation to the committee.
The park now includes a large play structure with multiple slides, a swing set and picnic benches in addition to its grass fields.
“It was a big endeavor, and a lot of people helped. It was really nice working with the city. … They gave us carte blanche to do what we wanted to do with this park,” Hughes said. “We worked on it really hard. … We hope you have a good time and have fun, be careful and help us keep the park nice and clean.”
