By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

South Portland city manager Jim Gailey asked some of his youngest constituents for assistance last week. 

Standing before a group of about 25 children, Gailey said, “We need help. The adults are tired of designing playgrounds in the city and we’re going to let the kids finally design a playground because that’s who plays on it right?” 

“Yes,” replied the crowd.

The South Portland Parks and Recreation Department invited children and their parents to the Redbank Community Center to help city staff design a new playground for the Redbank/Brick Hill neighborhood. It will replace the Mary Marsh School playground.

The new playground will be located in a fenced-in area closer to the street than the old one. That will discourage teenagers from taking over the playground. It also will provide more safety for the children because they will be in plain view of neighbors and parents, according to Gailey.

“We’re allowing the kids to tell us what they want in the playground versus saying ‘here, kids, play on it,’” Gailey said. “We thought it would be a cool idea to have the kids tell us.”

The children were given ballots and asked to vote for their favorite playground pieces after looking at pictures displayed on tables around the room. Ten types of slides and more than 35 different types of climbing equipment were represented in the pictures.

Kody Daniels, 9 and his brother Michael, 8, were two of the children casting votes for their favorite playground components. Kody liked the periscope panel and the tic-tac-toe. Michael preferred the space mat and the view tube.

Both boys said they were looking forward to having a new playground in their neighborhood. 

“The last time I went to a playground, there was a big rock wall that you climb up,” said Michael. “I climbed up it and then I went down the side.”

Kris Daniels, the father of Kody and Michael, supported the idea of having children choose the playground equipment.

“I think it’s great to actually get the kids involved in it, get them into the whole decision-making factor,” Kris said. “It makes them feel good about it. They’re seeing in advance what they’re going to be possibly playing on here soon.”

In addition to entertaining the children, Kris also feels that a new playground will enhance the quality of life in Redbank.

“Since they closed the school down, this area of the neighborhood needs to see a little bit of life. Right now, it’s a little run-down looking with the tall grass and the field. A new playground will actually brighten it up,” Kris said.

The ballots were collected by Joel St. Pierre, a sales representative of O’Brien and Sons – the company selected to install the new equipment. St. Pierre will tally the votes and pass the results on to Gailey. The city will use this input for the final design of the playground, which is scheduled to open around July 1, 2010, Gailey said.

The city manager estimated the final cost, including equipment, landscaping, and other amenities, would probably be $45,000 to $50,000. He hopes the entire cost can be covered by a Community Development Block Grant. The CDBG program provides money from the federal government to cities to develop viable communities.

O’Brien and Sons was selected by a national bidding process to get the best price, Gailey said. The Massachusetts company installs playgrounds throughout New England. They built the playground in Legere Park in South Portland’s Knightville neigborhood four years ago.

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237, or news@inthesentry.com.