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Vol. 2, No. 9
Saturday, April 4, 2000
[Home]
Yes, Newton Serves is upon us this coming Sunday (rain or shine). Wellington Park is one of the more than 50 sites in Newton where volunteers will be working this Sunday. At Wellington Park, we are expecting over 25 volunteers (many from other parts of the city). We expect to do cleanup, raking and pruning around the periphery, planting bushes and flowers, picking up every piece of glass (big or small) anywhere in the park, and painting the fences on Kilburn Road and on Princess Road.
Volunteers will convene at City Hall on Sunday morning and disperse to the work sites. They will be working onsite from 10 AM until 3:30 PM. Then back to City Hall for Sundaes! Are there any local volunteers to bake goodies or supply any refreshments for these wonderful volunteers. If so please leave a message at 969-6222 or email us at WellingtonPark@aol.com.
National Lumber (Newton Highlands) and Swartz Hardware (Nonantum) have very generously donated supplies for use at Wellington Park and other sites. Please support these local businesses. For our Newton Serves project we have or will be receiving donated: composted manure, pine bark mulch, 8 spiraea bushes, daylilies, black Rustoleum paint (fences), paint brushes, buckets, stirrers, rollers, roller covers, trays, trash bags, yard waste bags, and drop cloths. If you have signed up you will be receiving a phone call from the project leader, giving details of when, where, and what additional to bring (lunch, rakes, etc.). Thanks for helping to make Wellington Park the best that it can be!
A Wellington Park Play Structure meeting was held on Wednesday, March 22, 2000, 7 P.M. at the home of Lorraine and Scot Miller, 377 Waltham Street. The main item was a presentation on the GameTime play structure proposal. This was the last in our series of presentations by play structure vendors. In attendance were host and meeting chairperson Lorraine Miller (thanks to Scot for babysitting), Eleanor Ambrosio, Jane and Don Quinn, Ellen Andrews, Deedee Antonelli, Jean Patriacca, Ann Dorfman, Nancy Davis, Ted Kuklinski, and our guest, Doug Knotts, representative of GameTime.
GameTime structures can be found locally at Learning Prep School on Route 16 just over the Pike and at the Jackson School (behind the Jackson Homestead). These two are fence enclosed and are not be too accessible without permission. Other GameTime structures are in the housing complex across from Wal-lex skating in Waltham and at St Anthony's School in Brighton (Everret off Western Ave between Petco/Century Bank - left past Brentwood into parking lot of St Anthony' church. Structure at far end of block - Brentwood and Athol).
The Jackson School, LPS, and Wallex structures are all about 3 years old. A 1994 structure is at a playground in Watertown, off Pleasant Street on Evans Street near field (between Main and Pleasant). The Powerscape system was introduced in 1993.
GameTime (located in Brick, NJ) has been around since 1929. Doug Knotts is the local representative and lives in Newton Corner. He is an official CPSI (Certified Playground something - your note taker suffers a memory lapse). Originally, Doug had met some time ago with Lorraine and Eleanor (Play Structure Chairs) and prepared a proposal in the range of $15K. Subsequently the other proposals were requested around $11-12K. Doug reworked the GameTime proposal to a $12 K structure. He provided copies of the new proposal and current GameTime catalogs to the meeting attendees.
Our proposal uses the GameTime Powerscape System. It is available in either recycled aluminum or galvanized steel 5 inch posts. This system uses a 4 mil paint thickness. The attachment method is different from other vendors. They use a bolt-through method of attaching to the posts versus a wrap-around collar system. There is a 1.5 inch bolt which screws into a threaded insert which is mounted at fixed locations inside the posts. This method leave no variability or guesswork in the placement of decks and components. The danger of the collar system, according to Mr. Knotts, is that it can be installed incorrectly and lead to entrapments. This possibility is eliminated with the GameTime system.
Mr. Knotts showed examples of entrapment probes (child torso and head) and illustrated how some equipment may not pass the safety requirements. If the torso fits through, the head should be able to fit through. He cited a 1998 PIRG study on playground safety which pointed out that many playgrounds were not in compliance with various safety standards. The study stated that perhaps half of playgrounds contain some entrapment. He mentioned that two playgrounds in Newton may contain entrapments, structures at the Underwood School and the Lincoln Elliot School.
He claimed that GameTime decks are bigger than those of other systems. They are made of poly-vinyl coated punched steel. They use 11 guage steel. By contrast, Little Tikes uses 13 and Landscape used 12 (these are thinner).
Our structure cost as currently configured would be $12K and includes the cost of Fibar (the actual Fibar brand of engineered wood fiber). The play structure itself fits in a rectangle 21 x 21 ft. The actual play area for this size structure is required to be 34 x 34 ft.
Mr. Knotts seemed to be in favor of the excavation approach. He suggests possibly using a single 2x10 on the outside (on end) as edging. This system is used at the Jackson School. Perhaps a layer of rocks or gravel underneath would help to prolong the life of the Fibar.
If the play surface were raised, then a handicapped accessibility ramp is required. The ramp would have to be 4 feet wide. The transfer platform on the structure should be close to the entrance gate. It is permissible to have the ramp curve.
There are a number of different deck styles available. A recycled plastic deck, for instance, might cost 25% more (and might prove slippery). Decks are coated with PVC. These will wear over time but can be easily repaired. The PVC coating for GameTime is .125 thick, .118 for Little Tikes, and 0.08 for Landscape Structures. The warranty is 15 years on the steel, 1 year on the "plastisol" coating. We get a tube of material to be used for repair. The "plastisol" has a UV stabilizer in it to protect from sun.
Mr. Knotts then gave a verbal tour through the proposed play structure, starting at the transfer platform. The numbers on the structure drawing represent the height of the platform above the ground. One steps up to a 2 foot deck with a rung enclosure. There is a "maze time" panel at that level. Panel costs generally run from $700-1300 each, depending on the design. There is also a "race time" panel equipped with steering wheel, widow, and gas pedal. There is a solid dome roof (two of these are used in the structure.) There is a rumble and roll dual slide. Ridges on one side give it the "rumble". A "low wave" bridge (which dips) connects to the next deck. We could use a high wave bridge instead (up curve) if we wished. The decking is punched steel with 1 inch holes.
Our proposal includes a Tic-Tac-Toe panel , which is one of the better ones for play value. The question was raised if we could get a seat panel somewhere in our structure. They do have a "contoured seat panel". Another possibility was to use some of the "lily pad" stepping stone elements as seats underneath. We have a "quick one tube slide" which has a 30 inch inside diameter vs. the more standard 24 inch inside diameter. It may be possible to make the tube slide a "peek-a-boo" one. We currently have planned the fire engine panel and a thespian panel. There is an access ladder and a "clover" climber.
Our structure would require about 20 holes. We may need 18 inch diameter holes for the bigger posts, 14 inch for the attachments. The holes would be 18 inches deep. On the bottom may be a block of wood, perhaps 5 inches square. Doug estimated taking about 5-10 minutes to dig each hole. GameTime's standard procedure is to pour the concrete after the structure is completely assembled. He recommends using a transit device to make sure the structure is completely level. The wood blocks or dirt under the posts are used to adjust the vertical height of the posts. We may have to see if the city could provide a transit, or if we could borrow one somewhere. Since the concrete requires 24 hours to harden, it may be necessary to supervise the structure during this process. He related the story of a Lowell structure that needed to be fixed a little after it was climbed on at night after the build day.
The question was raised as to what tools we would need. We would need shovels, shale bars, and a transit level. He thought that, with 15 people, it should not even take a day. On the build day, we could have people come on different shifts perhaps, say from 8AM-1PM and from 1PM to 6PM. We could make arrangements for food and refreshments.
He said to keep in mind that concrete trucks don't normally deliver on Saturdays if we went that route. For a concrete truck load of about 2 cubic yards, the cost is about $200. He thought that we would require roughly 2.5 cubic yards of concrete. We would perhaps need 100 bags, 40-60 lbs/bag, roughly $150. One of the committee had obtained a quote from a local landscaper for digging and concrete about $70/hole. Each post requires about 0.1 cubic yards, .075 for the smaller post.
For GameTime, it would take approximately 6-7 weeks from the time of order to receive the playground equipment from the factory. GameTime usually charge $450/day for supervision but would likely be willing to include it in their price. The question was raised as to where the structure components would be shipped, to the city holding area or perhaps to a local neighbor. We need to find out from the city where to ship.
We briefly addressed the question of swings. We discussed whether it is better to separate the little kid/big kid swing areas. Could 2 tot swings be fitted into the play structure area and how much additional room would this require? There was also a discussion of the merits of the upside U end versus the single pole ends for a double swing. Doug thought either was fine but the single pole is less expensive (about $700).
There are larger plastic bags attached to the tennis court fence and to the fence near the SW entrance. Inside these bags are usually smaller plastic bags suitable for use as mitts to pick up dog doo. If you bring your dog to the park, you should have some means of picking up. The supplies at the park are apparently used quite a bit and often become depleted. Please feel free to contribute your small bags to the dispenser bags at the park. What a great use for those bags the Globe and Tab come in, or those little CVS bags, or the ones from supermarket. Bring a handful and stuff them in.
Please pick up after your dog. There is no excuse for not doing it. There apparently are some small number of people who do not pick up and they are giving a bad name to those who do! This is one of the things most complained about at our park. If you see any doo, even from another dog, please take it upon yourself to pick it up. And non-dog users of the park, please don't litter and especially don't bring glass bottles to the park!
A cat by the name of Willow is still missing from 9 Henshaw Street (between Cherry Street and Kilburn Road). Willow was last seen on Monday, March 20 at around 8 PM. If you can, please look in your garage, shed, basement, or other place where he may be stuck, also under porches or bushes where he may have crawled if injured. He is a bushy, long-hair male and should have on a red collar with his name tag. His chest and feet are white and otherwise he is tiger striped. Please see the picture on our website at http://wellingtonpark.8m.com/missing.htm" or on the posters around the neighborhood. If you have any information please call Ann Dorfman/John Waldron at 244-9321. A reward is offered. (Note: there is a small cat who lives at the corner of Henshaw Ter and Henshaw St that is similar in description but is not so long haired).
Please get on our email list. You will receive the Wellington News directly by email. It is the fastest and easiest way for our organization to keep in touch. Just send an email to WellingtonPark@aol.com or call (617) 969-6222 and leave a message. Or if you wish to be removed from the list let us know the same way. And of course, check out our web site http://wellingtonpark.8m.com. All back issues of Wellington News are available online.
If you are not wired, just read our high tech cork bulletin board at the park. You are most welcome to submit items for publication here (childhood remembrances about the park, opinions, yard sale notices, etc.) by email or regular mail (Wellington Park News, c/o Ted Kuklinski, 24 Henshaw Terrace, West Newton, MA 02465).
Recently, some of the notices and most of the thumbtacks disappeared from the bulletin board. Please make sure the Velcro tape is sealed along the side of the plastic cover so that rain doesn't get into the board. Lately, we have had a lot of information on the bulletin board related to the play structure, not leaving too much room. If you have other notices, please try to keep them small enough to fit in the currently available space and keep them under the plastic cover.