Shade is coming to the Posse Grounds Park playground, and if all goes as planned, it will be installed just before next summer’s heat arrives.
On Oct. 26, Sedona City Council approved an agreement between the city and Play It Safe Playgrounds Inc. for up to $434,470 for the purchase and installation of new playground equipment and surfacing at the Posse Grounds playground.
The contract includes new slides, swings, climbing boards, a catwalk, rope ladders, cyclone spinner, “rubberized flexiground” — rubber matting similar to what was installed at Sunset Park last year — and shade structures over the playground equipment and the bleachers area, where parents can watch their kids.
For Councilwoman Jessica Williamson, the shade structures represent one of the most important parts of the upgrade.
“I just want to thank you guys for providing what’s badly needed now, which is shade, in this location,” Williamson told City Engineer Andy Dickey at the meeting. “I think it’s hard to take kids out in the middle of the day in the summer and watch them fizzle.”
Posse Grounds Park is the last playground in the city without shade structures.
Dickey told the council that in addition to the new equipment, work will be needed on the concrete walkway surrounding the playground, as well as drainage improvements. He’s requesting approval for the playground equipment now to secure it in a timely manner. The equipment is being purchased through Mohave Educational Services Cooperative Inc, a cooperative purchasing group comprised of government and nonprofit buyers.
The playground upgrade was evaluated for sustainability under the city’s new Climate Action Plan, adopted in July. Staff considered the project under the CAP goal: “Increase the diversion of waste from the landfill and reduce GHG [green house gas] emissions associated with the consumption of goods and services.”
In an information packet, staff told the council that the playground equipment’s manufacturer, Burke, is part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power program, which helps companies track and meet renewable energy goals.
Dickey also told the board that the playground equipment is partially made from recycled materials. In an info sheet about its sustainability, the company states that, “A typical Burke playground structure and its components has an average recycled content of approximately 35%.” This figure includes all the materials in the playground, including metal, rubber and plastic.
Since 2018, when China announced it would no longer accept U.S. plastic for recycling, American recyclers such as Sedona Recycles have struggled to find buyers for used plastic to keep it out of landfills. By buying products made with high percentages of recycled material, especially difficult-to-sell materials like mixed-rigid plastics, the city could help encourage manufacturers to use recycled plastics and grow the market for recycled plastic. In September, Sedona Recycles board president Doug Copp told City Council that it was sitting on 25 bales of mixed rigid plastic, with no prospective buyers.
According to staff, the construction time frame for the upgrades to the Posse Grounds playground is 45 days, and work is anticipated to begin in early April 2022 and be completed by mid-May 2022.
