Fitness court to be installed at Kiwanis Park in Ottawa

The Ottawa City Council on Tuesday approved the purchase of a fitness court to be installed at Kiwanis Park at 115 E. Glover St.

This court will be purchased with $50,000 from the National Fitness Campaign and Blue Cross Blue Shield, with the city covering the other $93,350 for the addition at the South Side park.

“It’s an outdoor gym set,” said Commissioner Marla Pearson. “It has a little CrossFit type equipment but it’s basically like an outdoor gym that is a nice little space for people to work out outdoors.”

Pearson said the city decided to put the park on Ottawa’s South Side because of how much development has been done to the parks north of the Illinois River.

The National Fitness Campaign is a consulting firm founded in 1979 that works with cities, schools and sponsors to build healthy communities.