Tuesday, September 17, 2024
By Heather Graves
Correspondent
BELLEVUE – Visitors to DeBroux Park will be greeted by a new friend – a brightly colored lion water fountain curiosity of the Bellevue Lions Club.
As part of its 100th anniversary, Lions Clubs International has encouraged local clubs to undertake centennial projects to celebrate the milestone – one that would impact the community.
The Bellevue Lions Club decided to donate and install a lion drinking fountain at DeBroux Park for its project.
“Our club discovered the DeBroux Park in Bellevue did not have an existing drinking fountain that met the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Jenny Schmidt, Bellevue Lions Club member. “We felt the addition of this very symbolic drinking fountain would meet that need as well as provide a very fun memory for anyone that visits the park with the lion drinking fountain. We are very excited to see many pictures of families standing next to it as they quench their thirst.”
The fountain, including the purchase price, delivery, site excavation, concrete, plumbing, assembly and mounting cost approximately $7,000.
“The village is extremely excited to have such a unique piece added to our park,” said Stephanie Schlag, Parks, Recreation and Forestry director. “We are grateful to the Lions Club for their continued interest in the community.”
The local club worked over the past year to raise funds to support the project.
Schlag said DeBroux was chosen as the location for the fountain for a variety of reasons.
“We did a site selection with members of the Lions Club last spring and looked at our three most highly utilized parks that already had water running to it – Josten Park, Willow Creek Park and DeBroux Park,” Schlag said.
DeBroux was then selected for numerous reasons.
“DeBroux Park was chosen because of the proximity to water already located in the facility, which helped with ease of installation for a volunteer project,” Schlag said. “But more importantly, the location was picked because of the high use of the shelter on the weekends with rentals for parties and reunions, the summer camp program, which is offered at the facility, and the large number of youth sport groups that use the park during the spring, summer and fall.”
The Lions Club will be out in full force June 9 at Josten Park for its annual community picnic – complete with kids’ activities, a craft fair, a silent auction, beer and food tent and music by Big Mouth and the Power Tool Horns.
The picnic is from 1:30-5:30 p.m.
For more on the Bellevue Lions, visit them on Facebook.
