The City of Port Angeles and the Dream Playground Foundation are thrilled to announce that insurance funds have been confirmed for the rebuilding of the beloved Dream Playground, which was largely destroyed by fire on December 20, 2023.
“The Washington Cities Insurance Authority (WCIA) has confirmed that the City will be reimbursed for the arson damage sustained by the Generation II Dream Playground. We are now working with WCIA and the City’s Finance, Human Resources and Legal Departments to finalize the details of the reimbursement process,” said Corey Delikat, Parks & Recreation Director. “The estimated cost of the materials, play equipment and construction coordination necessary for the volunteer rebuild is just over $550,000 and will be fully covered by insurance.”
On February 6th, the Port Angeles City Council approved $250,000 of Capital Lodging Tax Funding towards the project. “We informed both the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee and the City Council that if we received insurance funding, we would give those funds back to Lodging Tax. That remains our plan,” said Delikat.
President of the Dream Playground Foundation Steve Methner added, “Our community is amazing, and we have been blown away by all of the donations and fundraisers that have happened without us even asking. We are sure people are wondering about those funds,” says Methner. “We are committed to honoring all the donated dollars and using them for the project. The City’s insurance will cover the strict replacement of the playground. This great news means that, through the additional dollars donated by our community, we will be able to add some upgrades and improvements to the playground and possibly even expand its footprint.”
The 2021 Generation II Dream Playground Project was completed in partnership by the all-volunteer Dream Playground Foundation and the City of Port Angeles. The Foundation organized the community build volunteers and served as the project lead and fundraiser. Led by the Parks & Recreation Department, the City of Port Angeles contributed major personnel and planning support, as well as $180,000 of the total $650,000 needed to cover the cost of materials.
“We are overjoyed to learn that—while we will still need to do the build as a volunteer-led event, just like the original two projects—we will not have to worry anymore about the cost of materials and equipment,” says Methner. “We will continue to lean on each other and our community for support during the demolition and rebuilding processes, but we will not need to seek additional grant dollars or ask our neighbors to dig any deeper than they already have to get our kids back at play. We are now full steam ahead for May 15-19 of this year."
For more information about the Dream Playground Foundation or the community rebuild project, please visit www.padreamplayground.org. Community members can also learn more by contacting the Parks & Recreation Department at (360) 417-4550 or parksandrecreation@cityofpa.us.