Playground news

October 11, 2010

ELCA sponsored a Daffodil bulb planting effort. Volunteers raked and bagged dead leaves, collected trash and planted the bulbs. When Spring comes, it will be beautiful!

Also, the fence is in the works. 6-7 feet tall, paid for and installed by the City.

Rebuilding log

July 28, 2010

So, after the cleanup, the next mid/long-term step is to decide what we want the playground to be when we rebuild it. As we discuss options, this is what’s been on my mind (and agenda):

1. Connect with neighborhood associations to figure out how they were formed, how they are run and what they’ve learned. The idea is that Williams Avenue residents need to organize and become some sort of committee or association, or else, work under an existing organization.

2. Decide how tall the fence will be. Obtain an installation date from City Hall.  I’m in touch with the department and will be calling residents to exchange ideas. We should see the fence up within 3 months, at the most.

3. We need to recruit more residents to be at the discussion table. Only 8 residents came on July 17, so there are lots of under/non-represented groups whose voices need to be heard. Everyone, please come to the next meeting.

4. Next meeting date: August 21, 11 am – 1:30 pm. Location TBD.

5. I have the playground’s blueprint (copy given to me by the Lynn Community Development Office). We can now think with real area measurements and numbers.

6. The biggie decision, for future discussion is…. whether or not the community wants or needs a basketball court.

A bit of history

Williams Avenue playground news… there’s a lot going on. I’ll keep posting progress from all fronts, as we seek to reclaim, rebuild and retain this playground as a healthy, safe and inviting place for kids and families to hang around.

First, a bit of history, by date:

1979-1980 – playground was rebuilt to its current layout. There was a water fountain (now broken) close to the walk-in area, and a merry-go-round in the back area, on the right side (only the square concrete slab remains).

1980-2010 – according to community members who have lived in the area for that long, there was a period of time when the playground was well utilized but then it started to go down. No maintenance by the City or by the residents. Throughout the period, lots of “false starts” to improve the grounds happened. There was even a movement to ask City Hall to sell the land, build an affordable house and be done with “the problem.”

2010/April:

04 – I contacted the Lynn Parks and Recreation Department (Lisa Neirich) to ask about how the community could help with cleaning up and rebuilding  the playground and was informed that the Boys Scouts were working on a date for a cleanup.

Throughout April – started researching possible outside funding sources and models of community building projects.

2010/May:

05 – after an ELCA meeting, chatted with Lynn Office of Community Development Director (James Marsh) and Youth Street Outreach Worker (Antonio Gutierrez).

11 – met with Lynn Community Facilities Manager (John Moberger) to start conversations about upgrading and rebuilding  (timing, funding, design, etc.)

26 – contacted Lynn Parks and Recreation Department (Lisa Neirich) again to follow up on cleanup efforts. I was informed that the  Boys Scouts were no longer planning a cleanup but another resident was interested in doing so. I contacted her and found out, to my excitement, that she was starting an organization called PlaySafe Lynn to clean up parks and playgrounds around Lynn. Williams Avenue was her next target and the timing for this couldn’t be better!

June/2010:

11 – PlaySafe Lynn and I connected to make a joint effort to cleanup the playground. Date was set for July 10th.

Throughout June – While PlaySafe Lynn gathered previous residents and friends for the cleanup and built excitement through FaceBook,  I created, produced and spread out flyers about the project and initiated plans for a follow-up community meeting to discuss next steps to rebuild the playground. ELCA member Heidi Maguire helped spread out flyers on the street – thank you Heidi!

29 – I met James Marsh at the playground to go over the current situation and look for what kinds of simple improvements we could make during the cleanup in July. I made a request for a fence to be put up for safety.

July/2010:

05 – Lisa Neirich (Parks and Recreation Department) contacted me with the good news that the City has decided to place 2 park instructors starting Tuesday 7/6 for a 5-week summer program. Since nobody in the neighborhood knows about it I asked her to bring flyers for distribution on cleanup day and offered to spread the word by walking around the neighborhood.

08 – Since Williams Ave is split in 2 wards, I called to invite Darren Cyr (Ward 3 councilor) and William Trahant (Ward 2 councilor) to come over for the cleanup.

10 – cleanup was a success. About 60 people came over to work: prior residents, current residents, One Voice Church members, PlaySafe Lynn members and lots of friends from Lynn and other cities . We painted all equipment, cleaned up trash and yard waste, mowed the grass, spread out mulch and repainted the back wall. The City provided mostly all equipment and materials, except the paint for the back wall (thank you PlaySafe Lynn).  The Parks and Recreation department also came with lots of refreshments. Kyle’s Friends Family Day Care owner Sheila Costa volunteered to do face painting for the children. Darren Cyr came and brought some donuts and coffee along. He had conversations with lots of residents.

James Marsh confirmed that my request for the fence will be granted. His office will wait for last word about what type, how high the fence needs to be.

16 – Lynn Daily Item published an article about the cleanup. PlaySafe Lynn posts news about playground summer program on Facebook, to help advertise. I walk up and down the street with my husband to let people know and pass out flyers. LynnSide Edition posts summer program flyer around the area.  Funny, some people on the street don’t want to take the flyer thinking I’m trying to sell something!

17 – Community meeting was held.