SWAMPSCOTT — Town officials had one Clarke Elementary School student in mind when they chose to resurface the adjacent playground at Abbott Park.
Gino Cresta, department of public works director and assistant town administrator, said there’s a student at Clarke School, Stella Puzzo, who is in a wheelchair and that she has trouble navigating through the 12 inches of wood carpet fiber, or wood chips, that serve as the base of the playground.
Cresta said Stella, who is going into the second grade, can’t get her wheelchair through the carpet fiber because it’s too deep — her wheels get stuck.
He said work started on Monday at the playground, which consists of gravel prep work, and installing a rubber base, which is more ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible. Weather permitting, the work is scheduled to be completed by the end of next week, Cresta said.
In May, Town Meeting members approved allocating $56,000 for ADA compliant playground material. About $26,000 of those funds are being expended on the playground at Clarke School. The Disability Commission also donated a handicapped accessible piece of equipment for the park, according to Cresta.
Cresta said the funds were requested with Stella in mind — he wanted to make life easier for her. Although the carpet fiber was ADA compliant, he said the rubber base is much better for wheelchair accessibility.
Nicole Puzzo, Stella’s mother, said she approached Cresta about the possibility of making the playground more accessible in the spring of 2016. She said she had help from Katie Greco, whose son goes to school with Stella.
Puzzo said the Greco family was involved with getting the original play structure at the school’s playground, and that Katie Greco helped her reach out to Cresta. She said Cresta was very open to the idea, and after research was done on what material could be put down and pricing, funds had to be requested and approved at Town Meeting.
Puzzo said her daughter has Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy and that she needs assistance from a walker or wheelchair to get around — she can’t walk independently. She said it was hard for Stella to access the play structures because of the wood chips, and her daughter had to stick to the blacktop at the school. Knowing that her daughter will be able to access the entire playground after the work is completed makes her so happy for Stella, Puzzo added.
“I’m so happy that the town has been so supportive and wanting Stella to just be a part of the community,” Puzzo said. “Stella is very lucky to have the community behind her.”
The remainder of the Town Meeting funds will be used for a similar rubber resurfacing project at the future playground at Phillips Park. The intent is the same, Cresta said, as it will be accessible for any child who is in a wheelchair.
The playground has to be installed at Phillips Park, as there is no equipment there now. Cresta said a generous Swampscott resident is donating the equipment and playground to the town, which is costing that person more than $100,000.
He said resurfacing work will begin at the future Phillips Park playground during the last week of August and should be finished by the end of September.
Through a bid process, Little Tikes Commercial was selected for the resurfacing work at the Clarke School playground, Cresta said. A contract hasn’t been awarded for the surface at Phillips Park, according to Danielle Strauss, recreation director.
“I think it’s a great thing for the Clarke School,” Strauss said. “I think it’s a great thing for the town to provide more spaces for handicapped individuals to use to play.”
