Community Hands Build New Pittsfield Playground
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The community literally came together to help Williams Elementary School build a new playground.
The playground, which will have its ribbon-cutting on Monday, was made possible in part by the city's Community Preservation Act.
The Community Preservation Committee held a public hearing for the next round of funds, and eligibility applications will be considered in December before spring project presentations and funding recommendations at the end of the fiscal year.
The members were updated on the progress of the new playground at Williams Elementary School, which secured a total of $50,000 in CPA funds and assembled the project this summer with help from volunteers.
The Community Preservation Act is a municipal funding source available to Pittsfield since 2017 from a one percent surcharge on the tax levy for real property, supplemented by some state funds. It can be used for housing, recreation and open space and historic preservation.
The school's PTO began working with Park, Open Space and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath a couple of years ago for the project, which totaled about $240,000 and included a great deal of fundraising.
The former steel playground equipment at 50 Bushey Road was installed in the 1970s and did not meet modern-day standards.
"This playground was always super troubling to me because it didn't have adequate safety surfacing. There were head entrapment areas on the playground," McGrath said.
"It was by no means modern or safe or compliant to [American Society for Testing and Materials] standards. It's incumbent on us to make certain that these playgrounds meet a certain quality and standard, so this was high on the hit list for improvement."
Approximately $240,000 was collected in local funding and donations for the design that accommodates various age ranges. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fourth grade.
Funding sources included:
- $110,000 in city capital (Set aside by former Mayor James Ruberto's administration, which ended in 2012)
- $79,978 Williams PTO
- $25,000 CPA 2025
- $25,000 CPA 2026
Of the $80,000 Williams raised, nearly $15,000 came right from book and bake sales. The Feigenbaum Foundation contributed $50,000, Greylock Federal Credit Union contributed $7,500, the Pittsfield Rotary Foundation contributed $5,000, and Lee Bank contributed $2,500.
McGrath pointed out that Pittsfield saved $25,000 by installing the new playground as a community build over 10 days. Each day, a contractor sent two experienced playground builders to supervise around ten community members.
Builders included the Williams community, Pittsfield Department of Community Development, Lee Bank, Pittsfield Fire Department, and the Taconic High School football team. A picture of Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso helping out was shown as part of the slideshow.
Over the 10 days, about 125 volunteers installed the new playground, and it was up before the academic year began.
Now, the equipment is fully compliant, has many different elements, and can accommodate prekindergarten to fourth graders. A ribbon will be cut on the new playground on Monday, Nov. 16 at noon.
"This was a great project. This was absolutely made possible because of CPA funding. I appreciate everything that you did to assist this project along," McGrath said.
"CPA has been amazing. We've had a lot of projects since the first year that have been implemented in our parks, and I just want to say thank you for that."
CPA funding applications are due in February, and there will be applicant presentations in March and April before funding recommendations are made. The City Council will vote on the funding decisions in June.
Tags: CPA, playgrounds,
