Pat & Jim Brockenborough Rotary Health Park

Park Location, Phases, and Vision

Location:  The Pat & Jim Brockenborough Rotary Health Park is located at 421 North 13th Street in the historic Fountain Avenue Neighborhood and adjacent to the neighborhood known as Frenchtown. The park is bordered by Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, 13th Street, Madison Street, and 14th Street.  

Amenities: 

• Splash pad (FREE; seasonal) - During the operating season (2022:  May 28 through October 9), the splash pad operates daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.   There are sensors in the concrete at the splash pad that turn on the water when touched.  
• Restrooms
• Playground
• Community garden
• Agility course and fitness area
• 1/3 mile walking path
• Picnic area, water fountains, and lighting
• Little Free Library - book borrowing/donating box

Vision:  The park (see image) is an outdoor health park that promotes healthy living.  It provides a venue for local schools, the Parks and Recreation Department, and other agencies to educate the public, especially youth, about proper diet and exercise.  For this park, the City of Paducah has partnered with United Way of Paducah-McCracken County, Lourdes Hospital, Baptist Health Paducah, Rotary Club of Paducah, Purchase District Health Department, Healthy Paducah Chapter of the Purchase Connections for Health Coalition, and Paducah Independent Schools.  Mrs. Pat Brockenborough has donated $500,000 for the park's second phase 

Phase I:  A ribbon cutting ceremony for the Health Park's first phase was held August 1, 2017.  In November 2016, the Paducah Board of Commissioners approved a 180-calendar-day contract with Wilkins Construction Company for the approximately $620,000 Phase I project which included the rubberized safety surface at the Rotary Playground, the installation of a 1/3 mile walking trail, a fitness area, the grading and resurfacing of the grassy lawn, lighting, landscaping, water fountains, and an expansion of the Community Garden. The Paducah Rotary Playground was installed and opened in June 2016.  Grants through the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, Land & Water Conservation Fund, and Recreation Trail  in addition to donations provided more than $668,000 for this project.  Prior to the Phase I Project, this park consisted only of a large open area, a smaller version of the Community Garden, and the Paducah Rotary Playground.

Phase II:  At the August 1, 2017, ribbon cutting celebration for the completion of Phase I, it was announced that Mrs. Pat Brockenborough is donating $500,000 toward the construction of a restroom facility and splash pad for Phase II.  On that date, it was also announced that the Health Park would be renamed the Pat & Jim Brockenborough Rotary Health Park.  A ribbon cutting for the Challenge Course, a fitness area with equipment that challenge agility, balance, and strength was held December 21, 2018.  On August 15, 2019, the splash pad and the restroom facility opened to the public. 

Future:  A future Future enhancement would be a performance plaza.  Plus, the end of the park facing Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive could include housing or a mixed-use development.

Little Free Library

In September 2018, Patrick McHaney finished his Eagle Scout project which provides a book repository at three City of Paducah parks.  The Little Free Libraries offer people a chance to choose a book to read, return it, and hopefully bring another book to share with the community.  When McHaney began planning his Eagle Scout project, he had a special person in mind, his grandmother who passed away in 2006.   McHaney said, “My grandmother, Marion Fillmer, was a librarian in Marshfield, Missouri.  She had a love for reading and how books can change, encourage, and open up the world to readers.  I wanted to honor her with these little libraries."  McHaney and his father along with the help of other Scouts designed, built, and installed Little Free Libraries at the Pat & Jim Brockenborough Rotary Health Park, Robert Coleman Park, and Keiler Park in Paducah. 

Little Free Library, a nonprofit organization, inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world.  Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds.  

Timelines, Partnerships, and Grants

• 2015:  At the April 14, 2015 City Commission meeting, Parks and Recreation Director Mark Thompson along with United Way of Paducah-McCracken County Executive Director Monique Zuber and Mike Muscarella, director of rehabilitation services at Baptist Health Paducah, explained the partnership that led to the creation of this new park in the Fountain Avenue Neighborhood.  Healthy Living is the theme with the City of Paducah working with a group of partners including the Healthy Paducah Chapter of the Purchase Area Connections for Health Coalition, United Way of Paducah-McCracken County, Baptist Health Paducah, Lourdes Hospital, Rotary Club of Paducah, Paducah Independent Schools, and the Purchase District Health Department. The program called CATCH, Coordinated Approach to Child Health, will be implemented in the Paducah School System to educate children on the benefits of healthy decisions and healthy lifestyles.
• More than $668,000 was available to start the first phase of the park.  The City received the Investing in Kentucky’s Future grant for the park in the amount of $400,000 from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. The grant required a cash match of $200,000 which was satisfied through a 2014 Land & Water Conservation Fund grant in the amount of $75,000, its cash match in the amount of $75,000, and donations of $25,000 each from the two hospitals.  The City also has received a Recreation Trails Grant in the amount of $68,095.  
• 2016:  The community built playground, sponsored and supported by the Rotary Club of Paducah in addition to Rotary District 6710 Grants and numerous donors, was constructed June 20-26, 2016, primarily by volunteers with a ribbon cutting held June 26.  This $200,000 playground is 4000 square feet in size and features a rope wall, rock wall, castles, swings, slides, and monkey bars.
• 2017:  On August 1, 2017, at the ribbon cutting celebration for the completion of Phase I, it was announced the the City would be receiving a $500,000 from Mrs. Pat Brockenborough to start the second phase of the project (a splash pad and a restroom facility).
• 2018:  On December 21, 2018, the community participated in a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of the Challenge Course, a fitness area with interesting pieces of equipment that challenge agility, balance, and strength.  The City of Paducah partnered with the Rotary Club of Paducah for the creation of the Challenge Course.  A groundbreaking ceremony also was held for the splash pad and restroom facility.  Mrs. Pat Brockenborough donated $500,000 for these amenities. 

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