Ribbon cutting, grand opening delayed by weather
More than 2-1/2 years after the idea was first conceived for a special playground in Hamilton County where disabled children could play right alongside their able-bodied friends, that concept will soon be a reality on city property in Aurora. What has come to be known as the Hamilton County Playground is in the final stages of construction at a site along Old Creek Road on the north side of town, following months of planning and fundraising in which $1.7 million was raised from businesses, organizations and individuals from across the state.
While the recent rain storms have slowed construction progress to the point organizers had to postpone this week’s planned ribbon cutting and grand opening, they are hopeful that can take place soon so the facility can be open to play by children of all ability levels. The following is the story of the playground’s 2-1/2 year journey from conception to reality.
Inspiration & beginnings
On a chilly February afternoon in early 2024, four women who were part of the initial envisioning team for the playground met at the offices of the News-Register to outline what they were proposing to build for children across Hamilton County. The group consisted of Aurora Schools Pediatric Physical Therapist Cami Knust, Occupational Therapist Kim Eberly and Mariah Sorensen and Jennifer Heiden, both of whom are the mothers of disabled children.
“I work with kids with disabilities and so it’s always kind of been a thought in my mind,” Knust explained in that meeting. “But just in working with some of the parents and talking to a couple of them, I just felt like it was the right time, and so I decided to just contact some people and see if others would be interested too. There was a lot of interest and so here we are.”
The group explained that after they had met over the course of several weeks for envisioning and planning, they had recently approached the Aurora City Council with the idea and received a tentative nod of approval on the project, indicating that the city was open to providing land on which to build it.
Just over a month later, in early April of 2024, the group announced it had identified a location for the playground and had secured the help of a non-profit organization in planning and developing the facility. The city had given permission to use an undeveloped section of city-owned property between Old Creek Road (north of McDonalds) and the Lincoln Creek Hiking Path to build the playground which would provide enough room for the playground, a restroom building and a parking area. The city council also agreed to maintain the park once it was built using donated money.
Knust also reported that the steering committee had partnered with the non-profit organization Unlimited Play, which was instrumental in the building of an inclusive playground in York recently. Knust said the organization would help with the designing of the facility as well as providing assistance with fundraising and grant writing. Knust said they learned about Unlimited Play through talking with Julie Hoffman, who was one of the leaders of the York project and now works for the organization.
With the project budget initially set at $1.5 million (It would later be raised to $1.7 million), another early boost to the project came from the Hamilton Community Foundation which agreed to provide administrative assistance for the fundraising effort.
“We’re using their nonprofit status to fund raise and we have an account there with a link to their website to donate,” Knust said.
Raising the money
The idea caught on quickly with local residents and organizations and within months the funds began to roll in. The Heartland United Way’s Go Big GIVE one-day fundraiser in May of 2024 brought in $96,000 and a benefit golf tournament in July raised another $10,000. By the time the final design for the 16,000 square foot playground was in place later that summer, $142,000 had been raised.
By early March of 2025, the committee reported that total had reached $1.1 million. The fundraising effort was advanced by a number of large donations including $100,000 from Cornerstone Bank, $200,000 from Hamilton Community Foundation, $200,000 from the Robert and Bethel Kolar Charitable Trust, $250,000 from the Frank M. and Alice M. Farr Trust, $100,000 from KAAPA Partners Aurora, LLC, $10,000 from Aurora Cooperative and $50,000 from Hamilton Telecommunications, as well as many other public and private donations.
With the fundraising effort nearing its ultimate goal, Knust admitted at that time that the committee was feeling the pressure to move to the next step in the process.
“Well, it pushes us a little bit, I think,” Knust said. “Because now we’re at the point where we need to get serious about getting some local bids for the groundwork and thinking about needing to order the equipment, because it takes eight months for that to come in.”
“It makes us a little bit nervous, because we want to be very fiscally responsible and have all our money (in hand),” Committee Treasurer Eberly added. “Yet we don’t want to get delayed by someone else’s timing if we have the money.”
“We’re so thankful that we’ve gotten to this point this fast,” Eberly concluded. “And it’s all because of local support from the grants, the businesses in town and individuals.”
Indeed, the support came in at all levels and from all kinds of groups. For instance, the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District made a $10,000 donation in January of 2025 and Aurora sixth graders donated $2,445.22 from the proceeds of their annual People of the Past event in May.
In order to avoid a scheduled price increase and to avoid possible higher shipping costs due to President Trump’s international tariffs, the specialized playground equipment needed to be ordered from a company in Canada prior to June 1, 2025, with nearly 65 percent of the fundraising goal reached, the down payment was made by the deadline. The equipment was scheduled to be delivered in October.
The groundbreaking
By August of 2025 the effort had reached 82 percent of its goal, with donations having topped $1.4 million, and just over a month later on Sept. 24 an official groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site (even through dirt work had already begun that summer on parking area).
Knust started off the proceedings by announcing that the project had met its total fundraising goal.
“We’ve had a great, great community helping with this project,” Knust began. “We want to welcome you and thank you for being here today for this exciting milestone. And we are excited to announce today that we have met our fundraising goal of $1.7 million.”
Also speaking at the groundbreaking was Heiden, who spoke with her special needs son, Creed, standing next to her.
“Today isn’t just about moving dirt,” she said. “It’s about moving forward together. This playground will be a place where every child, regardless of ability can play, grow and make memories side by side with their peers. Helping create a space like this was truly a passion project for me. Personally, I wanted to ensure that my child with disabilities had a safe place to play and explore his independence, to provide an opportunity for people to interact with him, realizing he is more alike than different. And most importantly, as a mother, I wanted to show all of my children that each person in this world deserves to be provided opportunities to be included and valued for who they are. I think a lot of lessons can be learned on the playground, and I’m looking forward to all the generations to come who will be learning about kindness, compassion and inclusion on this very playground.”
True to the spirit of the facility, in addition to the adults who participated in the groundbreaking with the use of golden shovels, area children were invited to move dirt using plastic shovels that had been provided.
Construction progress
With the relatively open winter of 2025-26, construction on the facility progressed rapidly through the fall and winter months. Following the pouring of the concrete slab for the parking area and the construction of the block restroom building, work began this spring on assembling the playground surfaces and equipment itself. Most of the larger, more recognizable structures, such as the mock up of a fire truck and the structure for the zipline, are in place, however, rainy weather over the past few weeks, has slowed progress to the point that this week’s ribbon cutting had to be postponed.
“While frequent rain has required us to adjust our timeline, we’re grateful for the moisture and remain excited about the progress that is being made,” Knust said last week. “We are committed to making sure every detail is completed safely and correctly, and are focused on taking the time to do it right and not just rushing to the finish line. There are pieces of the project that are dependent on the playground crew finishing their work, such as, installation of the fence, painting the parking lot, and final grading and seeding. While we’re eager to open it up to the community, after two years of planning and building, a little extra patience will help create the best result.”
Reflecting on the past two years, Knust said, “It’s amazing how far we’ve come and we are grateful for our committee, volunteers, businesses, organizations and individual donors who’ve helped to make this possible. The most exciting part is knowing that the impact of this project is only just beginning.”