Spring Green Park Build Saturday

Sussex residents still have time to come out and help build improvements to , with the community build scheduled to take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Amy Jeske, director of recreational services for Sussex, said about 20 volunteers have signed up to participate in the morning phase of the build and 15 have signed up to help in the afternoon, but her department is still accepting more volunteers.

“I actually was surprised,” Jeske said about the amount of people who have already signed up to volunteer. “I thought it might have been difficult to find people.”

Volunteers for the project will assemble new playground equipment and sa wing set as part of a village improvement of Spring Green. Village staff, which is doing prep work to ensure the installation of equipment Saturday will be safe, will also perform other improvements, such as the addition of a walking trail and naturalizing a portion of the park with native plants.

Once all of the work is completed, the village will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at the park, which is slated for 6 p.m. Sept. 14.

The idea of a community build was floated by in order to save thousands of dollars in costs associated with the improvements.

The installation of the equipment at Spring Green was projected to cost $7,448 before the build was planned, but Jeske said she won’t be able to say how much was saved until after the build is complete because the village still needs to pay for a site supervisor to guide volunteers, plus the cost of operations department staff time.  

Jeske said the department is organizing a similar effort for , which is scheduled to take place Aug. 27.

Village Board Trustee Pat Tetzlaff, who heads Simply Sussex, said her organization decided to get on board with the park build because it seemed like a unique opportunity to do a larger project than members usually do.

And with 13 group members signed up to participate in the build, Tetzlaff said she’s also pleased with the number of volunteers Simply Sussex will deliver.

“I’m always grateful when there are two or more interested, but I was very surprised because originally we had 14 people,” she said. “People have a lot to do in the summer.”

Volunteers will be served sandwiches Saturday to thank them for their efforts. Anyone interested in volunteering Saturday or for the Ridgeview build, contact Jeske at (262) 246-6447.