Kent Perkins, St. George Leisure Services Director, Speaks at Chamber Luncheon

Written by Marcos Camargo

On Wednesday, Jan. 21, St. George Leisure Services director Kent Perkins addressed local business leaders at a Chamber of Commerce hosted lunch. He praised the recent groundbreaking of St. George’s first all-abilities park and playground and outlined the planned use of new funds generated from the narrowly voter approved RAP tax.

The all-abilities park will provide access to people of various physical abilities, including the physically disabled. A large amount of funding has already come from numerous sources including private and corporate donations, contributions from nonprofit groups such as the St. George Exchange Club and Intermountain Healthcare, and money set aside from the 1996 Parks Bond.
However, even with secured donations of over $100,000, Perkins said there is still a long road ahead to raise the additional $800,000 to $1,000,000 needed to complete the park as envisioned on paper. The fully constructed park will be dinosaur themed and include a stream with waterfall, a working locomotive with three fully accessible coaches, and a playground built to accommodate those with special needs.

Perkins said he hopes the Chamber luncheon will bring attention to the need for more funding if the park is to be completed in its full glory. The Leisure Services Department is looking to local businesses and non-profits to provide this monetary infusion.
In addition to discussing the new all-abilities park, Perkins also outlined the many parks and arts projects due for completion in 2015. Several new projects have been made possible by the recently passed RAP tax. The measure to enact the new tax, which increased sales tax on non-food items by one-tenth of one percent, ended as the closest local political race this past November, but nonetheless received voter approval. The RAP tax is expected to provide over $2,000,000 to new arts, parks, and recreation projects over the next ten years.

Perkins announced that one such RAP tax funded venture will be the creation of an “arts district” in downtown St. George. This area will feature studios and galleries for both visual and performing arts with the soon-to-be renovated Electric Theater at the district’s center.

Perkins believes the all-abilities park, as well as the RAP tax funded arts district, will be of great economic benefit to the city.  He also believes that as St. George enters a new phrase of growth, access to a variety of leisure and culture activities will suit the tastes of a diverse influx of residents and visitors.