New Playground Opens in Church Square Park

Around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, a group of about a 100 screaming kids ran onto the new playground in Church Square Park. Within seconds, the multiple climbing structures were full of kids.

Climbing onto the biggest structure took Itamar Greenfield about seven seconds he said.

"They built more things to climb on," he said. Greenfield was one of the kids who helped Mayor Dawn Zimmer cut the ribbon to the much awaited play ground. Afterward, Greenfield, 11, kept a piece of the red ribbon and put it in his pocket.

"Than I can remember the opening of the park," he said.

The equipment in the park is appropriate for multiple ages, said Health and Human Services Director Leo Pellegrini. All in all, the playground cost about $650,000. Of that money, $52,000 was donated by the family alliance.

Zabrina Stoffel, a local parent who has been working to renovate the park since 2009 as part of an initiative called Project Play, said the new playground exceeded her wildest expectations, calling it "safe" and "challenging" for a variety of ages.

"It's beyond my dream," Stoffel said.

The park is opening in phases. The basketball court is being returfed and new swings are scheduled to arrive — from Europe — before the end of the year, Pellegrini said.