The ribbon was cut on Saturday at Lacy Park, commemorating the completion of the county’s first multisensory playground as well as many infrastructure improvements.

Adam Meneo and the Rotary Club were key drivers for this project.

Was it what he hoped it would be when it was just a concept?

“Pretty much exactly,” he said.

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton The Warren County Youth Orchestra performed before and during Saturday’s event at Lacy Park.

Though he was quick to point out there are phase two projects outlined, such as additional playground equipment as well as a more accessible surface.

State Senator Scott Hutchinson called Saturday’s event a time to “celebrate a community effort.

“This is a wonderful place of respite for the entire community,” he said, a “small piece of heaven” and a “wonderful facility.”

He said he’s pleased to support the state Department of Conservation and Natural resources and their willingness to assist municipalities with projects such as this.

The project to date has cost approximately $500,000 and includes a $265,000 Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant.

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources provided a grant of $265,000 for the infrastructure work at Lacy Park. Erin Wiley Moyers represented DCNR at Saturday’s ribboncutting.

The Rotary Club was instrumental in raising the funds locally for the sensory playground part of the improvements.

Those enhancements went far beyond just the playground though and include new restrooms, parking (which the park previously did not have), a new pavilion, paths to the various park amenities and improvements to the basketball court.

The playground equipment is specifically designed to tailor to special needs children including those with tactile, auditory and sensory challenges. There’s also a swing specifically designed for those in a wheelchair.

Erin Wiley Moyers with DCNR said the project shows the importance of both the multisensory playground but greenspace as well.

“It’s been a long project,” she said. “It’s amazing.”

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton State Senator Scott Hutchinson speaks during Saturday’s event at Lacy Park, which he described as a “small piece of heaven.”

Warren County Commissioner Jeff Eggleston said he has an “immense amount of gratitude” for those involved, including Meneo and Dr. William Clark who “drove this thing home.”

The commissioners contributed Act 13 funds – revenue generated from oil and gas development across the state – to the project.

“This park for me is a very personal space,” he said, calling it “difficult to watch it kind of fall into disrepair.”

He called the finished project a “fantastic achievement” with a playground that “really brings everyone together.”

“I knew it would be great,” he said. “I didn’t know it would be this great.”

Dr. Kathleen Bastow with the Barber National Institute, which consulted on the playground design, emphasized that meeting the needs of those with disabilities also meets the needs for everyone.

Mayor Maurice Cashman provided a brief history of the park, noting that the property was originally part of the Lacy family farm.

When one generation of owners had no children, he decided to deed the property in Oct. 1920 to the school board for Warren Borough, Cashman explained.

The Lacy School was then built in 1928 but closed in the 1980s and ultimately raxed in 1990.

Cashman said that a parcel of that property was preserved in a 2001 rehabilitation by the Lacy Community Park Foundation.