Plain Township seeks funding for inclusive playground at Diamond park

PLAIN TWP. − The township is seeking $125,000 in state money to pay for new playground equipment that's suitable for all children, including those with disabilities, at Diamond Community Park.

The playground equipment there is now about 25 years old and it's due to be replaced. It's not accessible to children with physical or cognitive disabilities. The current equipment is also designed only for children ages 5 through 12.

The new equipment would be suitable for children as young as 2. The township has inclusive playground equipment at Al Leno Park at 3059 Alpine St. NE.

"We want to ensure every child, regardless of their physical or cognitive challenges, has a place to play and feel included," township Administrator Lisa Campbell said. "It teaches other children empathy in sharing those spaces. And it fosters a sense of community. ... Playing together creates friendships and experiences that they may not have otherwise had somewhere else."

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The township officials plan to submit an application for funding from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources NatureWorks program prior to a June deadline. If the township gets the money, the township would have to put up a 25% match of the entire grant amount. Officials could spend the township's funds on paving a walkway to the playground.

'This isn't just about the inclusivity of kids.'

Township Parks Director Rob Steinberg said that Diamond Park is the most heavily used of the township's parks, with about 60,000 visitors a year and continually increasing. A larger volume of children are playing on the playground equipment at any one time.

The park has an inclusive swing set closer to the southeast corner. Steinberg said if the township can get funding, the new playground set would be closer to the southeast corner on fibrous mulch near where the current swing set is. It also would be in a safer and larger location away from golf cart traffic and the play on the soccer fields. The site where the township once had bocce courts would provide enough space for ramps for people who use wheelchairs.

"This isn't just about the inclusivity of kids," said Steinberg, adding that the new equipment would be designed for parents and grandparents with disabilities to play with their children. "It's about continuing to cater to a multi-generational family, which is more and more common these days."

Steinberg said the township is looking at playground equipment provided by Snider Recreation of North Royalton. He said the company sold the township the playground equipment it has at the Plain Township Amphitheater at Oakwood Square. Steinberg said the playground at the amphitheater is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act but the space isn't large enough to serve all children with disabilities.

Snider's equipment is "state-term bid," meaning the company submitted competitive bids that the state approved and the township wouldn't have to solicit its own bids, said Steinberg.

'It gives everybody a chance to belong.'

Victor Johnson, a board member of a soccer community club at Diamond and a former elementary school principal, told the trustees that the new equipment "gives everybody a chance to belong. ... It's about those kids that have that situation in front of them, having that opportunity to be right there with everybody else."

Trustee John Sabo said, "I like the layout. And where this is proposed to go."

He proposed setting up a special parking lot by the new playground for people with disability placards and license plates.

Campbell said township officials would add that proposal to the grant application.

Steinberg expects to find out by this fall if the township gets the grant. Then construction and installation of the playground would start in the spring and be finished by late summer 2025.

Campbell said the township did get a $33,000 ODNR Natureworks grant last year to build pickleball courts at Al Leno Park. And that could reduce the chances the township gets the grant for the playground.

Campbell said she and Steinberg had been discussing bringing an inclusive playground to Diamond Community Park for years because the equipment there was next due to be replaced. They wanted a consolidated playground set versus the separated equipment at Al Leno Park.

Steinberg said North Canton's inclusive Possibilities Playground at Dogwood Park, whose equipment was also provided through Snider Recreation, had a much bigger budget and space than is available for the Diamond playground. Not including the cost of a new restroom, the Possibilities Playground cost about $500,000.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. X formerly Twitter: @rwangREP.