DADE CITY — As a father of three and a youth soccer, baseball and flag football coach, Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore said he has spent "sometimes five or six days a week'' at the Wesley Chapel District Park.

Beyond the chalk lines and turf, he noticed a void. Pasco County does not have an inclusive playground for children with special needs. The nearest one is 25 miles away.

“We want kids to be able to participate together — all kids,’’ Moore said Monday.

So he took his idea to both the county Department of Parks and Natural Resources and to the private sector, asking companies and nonprofits to help put an inclusive playground at the Wesley Chapel District Park, one of the centerpieces of the county’s park system. He hit pay dirt with Lennar Foundation, the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel and AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, which donated a combined $110,000 for the playground.

On Tuesday, commissioners formally accepted the contributions, thanked the groups for their generosity and also transferred $215,000 in public money toward the project.

The Rotary Club, which donated $35,000 and pledged $15,000 more, also will maintain a butterfly garden adjacent to the playground. It's one of the largest projects tackled by the 14-year-old club. Read more at: Kids with special needs to get their own playground in Pasco County