ST. PETERSBURG - The new play station looked like pieces of a purple pipe organ, playing a hymn to the sky. The city only had time to install mostly vertical pieces on Tuesday, the first day of construction at Mount Vernon Elementary School. By March 29 all of the platforms, slides and climbers should be hooked up for school children and the public to enjoy.
Therein lies the novelty. The city already works with several middle schools and high schools, sharing athletic facilities with the public when school is not in session. But Mount Vernon, at 4629 13th Ave. N, will host the first joint-use playground. Expect to see more, capital improvements director John Green said.
The project begins to make good on Mayor Rick Baker's pledge to locate a public playground within one-half mile of every resident in the city, Green said. His department selected Mount Vernon because students have to walk farther to get to the closest recreation center (Northwest, at 5801 22nd Ave. N) than would students of other schools.
"We could potentially partner with every elementary school in the city limits," Green said.
The $80,000 earmarked for the site includes equipment, fencing and gates. A rope and a pole climber from the old set have been relocated for physical education.
Under the agreement, the city maintains the 1.6 acres of playground in exchange for public use of the land outside school hours, from sunrise to sunset. The city has not talked to representatives of Lakewood, Lynch, Rio Vista, 74th Street, Pasadena, or Maximo elementary schools, but finds those sites attractive, Green said. Schools would have the final say on what equipment they get according to their needs in physical education.
Mount Vernon principal Valerie White reported that spirits are running high about the new play station. "They're excited."
Karen Minaca, who teaches fifth grade at Mount Vernon, said children needed a moment to digest the concept. "When the kids first heard about it, they were upset. They said, "This is our playground."'
Once the children understood they would be sharing the playground, not giving it away, those doubts cleared, Minaca said.
