SODA SPRINGS — Laura Lind clearly remembers the hot summer days of 2014-15, taking her children to the various playgrounds located in and around Soda Springs.
Pushing a stroller in one hand, holding a baby in the other, while watching her older kids run amuck trying to ride the fastest slide or go on the highest swing, each located on opposite sides of the park, was nothing short of exhausting for the young mom.
Lind recognized the need for a consolidated playground: One location where each of her kids could explore and play without undue danger or a giant geographical gap between them. She felt that other parents might feel the same way.
And she was right.
In 2016, Lind and a like-minded coalition of concerned parents created a non-profit called the Friends of the Soda Springs City Park and immediately went to work. Working closely with the Lions Club as well as several prominent local businesses, the group hired engineers who worked alongside local elementary school students who drew designs of the types of toys and playground equipment they wished to see in a local park.
With an initial investment from Hunzeker Ford, the group managed to complete their designs and after dozens of fundraisers, grant-writing and sizable donations from Maverik and Bayer, the Maverick Caribou CommUNITY Playground garnered the necessary $350,000 to become a reality.
The new playground was built on the northeast corner of Soda Springs City Park in 2018.
Since that time, the park has served to unite families across the community. Even visitors list the playground as one of the top three attractions in Soda Springs. It has brought together folks from all walks of life and of various physical and mental abilities, thanks to the inclusion of playground amenities well-suited to children with special needs.
Now in their eighth year, the Friends of the Soda Springs City Park have continued their quest to provide a safe and fun environment, continuing to maintain equipment and ordering replacement playground parts when necessary.
One recent improvement was the installation of cameras at the playground in 2023, which has already cut down on acts of theft and vandalism within the park. These efforts, plus annual maintenance with great assistance from the City of Soda Springs as well as the Lions club, have served to keep one of the city’s crown jewels in the best possible condition.
However, anyone who has visited the park in the summertime quickly realizes that the extremely hot temperatures create a hazardous situation for any man, woman or child who dares to touch exposed skin on a metal surface inside the park. Slides and benches can quickly create burns, ruining the day for the happy, fair-skinned toddlers who are among the park's biggest fans.
For local resident and park board member Alana Burns, it was a big problem for her family.
“We want to be there more often,” she said, “but it is just so dang hot. I thought, gosh, what a travesty, we just worked so hard as a community to fundraise $350,000 for this amazing playground that everybody loves, but it's empty several hours of the day that could be optimal playtime. I just think that’s so sad.”
One experience in particular resonated with Burns.
“My (4-year-old) daughter got heat exhaustion at the playground,” Burns said. “Kids when they are having fun, they don’t want to stop, they just want to keep going, and she ran herself to the point of heat exhaustion and she was out for two days. And it's not just about my daughter. I’m certain other people have been affected or they’re just abstaining from playing and that breaks down the whole communal aspect of the playground.”
Rather than avoid the park on hot days, Burns did some research and ultimately devised a solution. What if they could use industrial shade covers to prevent the sun's scorching rays from directly reaching the playground equipment and the kids who use it?
And so this past winter, Burns successfully sought a grant from the Idaho Realtors Association, winning $5,000 to kick-start the project. City officials are donating the labor to complete the job and Caribou Ford has pledged to donate several thousand dollars to help out.
Burns said, “Ultimately the goal is to have the shade sails provide shade on as much of the playground as we can, while keeping the budget affordable…. The scope and budget of this is still being developed, but we are trying to do this as economically as we can.”
The proposed budget for the project is $50,000.
Anyone wanting to help reach that goal should message the Friends of the Soda Springs City Park at https://www.facebook.com/friendsofthesodaspringscitypark or contact the group's president, Laura Lind, by email at lauralind5@yahoo.com.
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