LEXINGTON, Minn. – (May 15, 2015) – When DuWayne Avenue ends in Lexington there is a parking lot and a volleyball net inside an overgrown lot. The city has dreams of turning this space into a vibrant park and they are trying to raise enough money to start the project through crowd sourcing. “Phase one is about $209,000 we know that no matter how many people we talk to that is just not possible. We have broken it up into two different areas.” said Lexington Finance Director Tina Northcutt.
The fundraising projects are a picnic shelter space that will cost about 55 thousand dollars, and a basketball court and playground space that will cost just over 40 thousand dollars. The amount is high, but the city is hoping everyone can get on board with a small donation. “We are hoping people have $5 or $10” said Northcutt.
The city also plans to apply for grant dollars and to approach area businesses to partner in the project. The space has been in its current state for many years, which led the park board to start exploring of how to best serve the many children who live in the buildings next to the space. “This space has been like this forever, a few years ago we started talking about we would like to have a basketball court and playground equipment for the kids who live around here” said Lexington Park Board Chair LeAnn Mitlyng.
The idea of using crowd sourcing websites such as Indiegogo and Fundly is very popular, but it is a new idea in city government. “I have not heard of anybody else so little Lexington here is going to be the first to give it a shot. Why can’t we do it, we can at least try” said Northcutt
The fundraising campaign goes through mid-July.
Related Links:
Fundly Fundraising Page
Indiegogo Fundraising Page
City of Lexington
