Ground broken on Franklin Park project

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The former Franklin Elementary School site began its transformation into a multi-use public park on Friday with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by stakeholders in the project, as well as some of the children and area residents who will likely enjoy the benefits of the new facility.

Former Franklin School student Jordan Hurless officially lifted the first shovelful of dirt to mark the beginning of the multi-stage project.

The new park, the fruition of nearly two years of design and funding discussions, is the brainchild of Van Wert native and philanthropist Scott Niswonger, who attended Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony with his wife, the former Nikki Elliott, also a Van Wert native.

Niswonger spoke briefly, and with emotion, noting his love for the community he grew up in and his wish to do something on the site of the elementary school he attended as a child.

“We came up with the idea, and I gave the seed money to get it started,” Niswonger noted. “I think some of the fondest memories I have are growing up in (Van Wert).”

“This is really hard, because I can see my house right there (on Harrison Street), where I grew up,” Niswonger said, after a pause to regain his composure. “Van Wert, the time we grew up, was the very best time, I think, in this country to have grown up, and I hope that we’re able, through this park, to bring back some of those feelings of community and neighborhood…”

Nikki Niswonger also spoke of her fondness for the community where she and her husband were raised.

“We’re really proud of our community,” she said of Van Wert. “We love bringing people here … we love coming here … this is the best of the best.”

Scott Niswonger had proposed the idea of a turning the former school site into a family park back in August 2013, and donated the use of his architect, John Fisher, and landscape architect Jim Douglas to design the park, as well as up to $500,000 to fund construction of the new park.

“Van Wert provided a wonderful time and place to grow up,” Niswonger said at the time, noting then his fondest for the community in which he spent his childhood. “I am happy to help with something special, and wanted to see something appropriate done with that space — especially for young people.”

As it has on many other occasions, The Van Wert County Foundation announced it would provide the remainder of the funding for the project — and Niswonger commended the foundation for its investment in the community.

“You don’t realize how fortunate you are to have the Van Wert County Foundation stepping up on some of these projects,” Niswonger told the crowd. “This really wouldn’t be possible without them, and I’d like to thank them.”

Van Wert City Schools and the City of Van Wert were also thanked for their contributions to the new park.

Beth Runnion, the last principal of Franklin School, talked about how the school site was “a special place, especially for kids.”

Runnion also noted that the park would be a memorial to the school and its impact on the community. “Let this be a reminder of the importance of our schools, because the memories that I talk about here did not stop when we left this building,” she said.

The new park, which will be built in phases over the next two years, will include a shelterhouse, a basketball court that can be turned into an ice-skating rink or roller-blading area, a pickleball court that can also function as a volleyball court, a skating park, a children’s playground area and lots of green space (click here for a detailed copy of the design).

Niswonger also noted his wish that the park include a new community swimming pool, and pledged to donate $250,000 to such a project.

Van Wert Mayor Don Farmer talked about “the great family center” that would be created on the former school site and commended those who have given to the community over the years, people like the Brumbacks, who provided funding for a county library, the Wassenbergs, who helped create a city art center, and George Marsh, who helped establish both a hospital and the city’s YWCA, as well as the Marsh Foundation.

“This community has been very fortunate to have people, in years past, who saw fit to set funding aside with the Van Wert County Foundation to establish assets for our community,” the mayor said, and also gave credit to Niswonger, who now lives in Greenville, Tennessee, for providing the seed money to construct the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio.

Mike Gearhart, president of the Van Wert County Foundation Board of Trustees, talked about the many donors who have provided funding to the foundation for community projects — and how appropriate it was for the foundation to provide money for the park project.

“When financial assistance was required to make Franklin Park a reality, the trustees of the foundation felt this project was exactly what many of these donors had in mind when endowing their money to the foundation,” Gearhart said. “We feel fortunate to lend financial assistance to a project of this size and scope.”

The mayor and Gearhart also mentioned that they feel the Franklin Park project fits neatly into Scott Niswonger’s motto of “Learn, Earn and Return”.

Plans are to bid out the project in August and September and, hopefully, begin work on the park yet this fall, said Foundation Executive Secretary Seth Baker.