BURLINGTON — Boone Woods on Ky. 18 will soon shine brighter — literally.

        And England-Idlewild Park on Idlewild Road will have new places for children to play and more places for families to eat.

        These are just two jewels in the crown of the Boone County Parks Department, named statewide Department of the Year last month by the Kentucky Recreation and Parks Society.

Boone County Parks Department workers Bill Long (left), Travis Centers (behind tree), Jesse Allen (partially obscured) and Jeremy Mahoney do some off-season chores Tuesday at England-Idlewild Park. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        Boone County Parks Department Director Ken Hund said the improvements should be in place by this spring or summer. They are the first baby steps of what by 2020 will be $38 million in new projects.

        England-Idlewild and Boone Woods get the first improvements, which will be about $360,000 alto gether.

        At England-Idlewild, about $240,000 will be spent for:

        • Two playgrounds. One will be for children ages 2-5, with the other for 6- through 12-year-olds. Cost: nearly $80,000.

        The centerpiece is equipment built to look like a 19th century fort — complete with parapets — which Mr. Hund said ties in with Boone County history.

        “You think of Daniel Boone, you think of forts,” Mr. Hund said.

        • Three or four basketball courts. Cost: $64,500.

        • Three picnic shelter houses, which will come with picnic tables and barbecue grills. Cost: $60,000.

        • A 0.6-mile water line throughout the park. Cost: $35,000.

        And the bright lights? Look for Boone Woods and its $120,000 worth of new bulbs for the tennis, volleyball and horseshoe courts.

        The lights will bring Boone Woods up to the same brightness as Central Park on Camp Ernst Road. Mr. Hund said the current setup was installed sometime in the 1970s.

        Mr. Hund said park development between now and 2020 will center in Hebron and Union for the foreseeable future.

        “Those are the hot spots,” Mr. Hund said. “The plan was completed and adopted in September.”

        Among the items: a family aquatic center in either Florence or Burlington, hiking trails and separate horseback riding trails.

        Program planner Mary Ann Neltner can't wait for the aquatic center, which also is expected to have room for such things as the adult volleyball leagues she would like to expand.

        “It's a long time coming,” Ms. Neltner said. “We run (the leagues) through the schools, but we get bumped. We'd like to have a place of our own.”

        Mr. Hund said the county is acquiring land for new parks. He had no timetable for opening any new parks, but said the county is looking at 10-16 sites.

        The work is apparently part of the reason the Kentucky Recreation and Parks Society gave Boone County its Department of the Year award last month in Owensboro. And Mr. Hund received the organization's Fellow Award for his 20 years of service.

        “I never intended to leave because the job is so fulfilling,” Mr. Hund said.

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