By Anne Holzman
A redesigned playground at Community Park in Falcon Heights will offer better access for visitors with disabilities, patches of shade and more activity areas than the old park footprint, according to city officials who settled on the plan in December.
Plans for a new shelter and bathrooms are also shaping up, scaled back somewhat from earlier plans due to inflation and other funding considerations, city officials said.
Northland Recreation won the playground project bidding against six other vendors who offered a total of 11 designs. The city council on Dec. 23 authorized spending up to $250,000 for Northland to build the playground this coming summer. See PDF of the proposed design
The Parks and Recreation Commission has devoted many hours of meetings over the past several years to planning Community Park renovations.
James Wassenberg, city council liaison to the parks commission, said in early January that Northland’s proposal was a clear winner. It has ramps and an accessible merry-go-round, “a lot” of slides and shade structures and, he added, “the vendor was very flexible” about making some requested changes.
“I think we will have a wonderful, multifunctional playground for our city’s kids to use for years to come,” Wassenberg said.
City Administrator Jack Linehan told the city council that he’s hoping for a rubberized surface for the park’s playground, which would require additional funds that he’s still seeking. He’s also hoping to find money for park fencing.
Those and other items might be eligible for a state Department of Natural Resources grant, which Linehan will again apply for this year after two failed attempts in previous cycles.
As of early January, plans to replace the park’s old building were also near completion.
Last spring, the city was considering a four-season building with rooms to rent, but inflation in the construction industry pushed those plans beyond the city’s financial means. After bids came in, the council opted to scale back the new park building to a prefabricated shelter with year-round bathrooms and concession space.
Linehan said if all goes smoothly, much of the shelter work will also be done this year.
At the Dec. 23 meeting, the three council members present adopted the Northland contract unanimously and thanked the parks commission for its work on moving the project forward.
“It looks really good,” Mayor Randy Gustafson remarked. “I can’t wait to play on it!”
Anne Holzman is a freelance writer who covers Falcon Heights government news for the Bugle.
