City of Novato, CA
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NOW OPEN!
Pioneer Park Ribbon Cutting Celebration and Event
On Saturday, April 13, the City of Novato celebrated with City Council members, community supporters, and families at Pioneer Park to commemorate the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the City's and Marin County's first inclusive playground. The event was a joyous occasion, recognizing the hard work and generous contributions that made this transformative project possible.
Despite the rainy weather, the celebration began at 11:15 AM with smiles all around, as attendees gathered to enjoy engaging speeches and fun activities. The Novato Police Department also hosted their Pop-Up Police Station during the celebration.
The inclusive playground at Pioneer Park serves as a shining example of the Novato community's commitment to creating a welcoming and accessible environment for all children and families. The successful ribbon-cutting celebration was a testament to the power of community collaboration and the positive impact it can have on the lives of our youngest residents.
Visit Pioneer Park today and experience the joy and excitement of this one-of-a-kind inclusive playground!
Pioneer Park Ribbon Cutting Coloring Sheets
Novato Parks and Recreation is thrilled to announce the addition of Honor's delightful coloring sheets to the Pioneer Park page, celebrating the ribbon-cutting event for Marin County's first all-accessible playground! These coloring sheets, designed by Novato Parks & Recreation employee and talented artist, Honor, beautifully capture the spirit of inclusivity and accessibility that Pioneer Park embodies. We invite everyone to download and enjoy these heartwarming illustrations, even if you missed the event. Click the coloring sheets below to download and print each sheet.
Project Overview
Pioneer Park Playground Improvements Project & CIP #22-004
Description
The City of Novato is excited to announce upgrades to the Pioneer Park play structures! The play areas are NOW OPEN!!! Play Structures for ages 2-5 and 5-12 feature amenities that provide more opportunities for accessible and inclusive play. Enhancements include:
- Accessible play structures featuring ramps and platforms providing access for individuals with mobility limitations;
- Rubberized play surfacing around both play structures;
- Accessory play features including an accessible whirl (InclusiveWhirl) and Expression Swings with an adaptive seat to accommodate children or adults with mobility limitations;
- Accessible wave rockers (Sensory Wave Rock N Raft);
- Umbrellas for shade;
- New benches; and
- Perimeter fencing enclosing both play areas.
City staff would like to thank the community for its ongoing support in planning the initial project, and modifying the project plan in the aftermath of the October 13, 2022 arson fire that damaged equipment of both play areas as well as the damage and delay done by the falling of the large oak tree adjacent to the play structure in January of 2023. The project plan changes caused by the arson fire resulted in nearly a year long delay in the reopening of the smaller play area, and required staff to evaluate the larger play area for compliance with the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Following the evaluation, the City Council supported the complete renovation of the larger play area in coordination with renovation of the small play area, making both areas more accessible and offering a more inclusive play design. Both play areas will feature designs aligned with the National Standards for Youth Physical Activity and the Six Key Elements of Play developed by the Society of Health and Physical Educators, earning each site the designation as “Play On!”. Both sites meet the “Me2®: 7 Principles of Inclusive Playground Design” created by researchers, architects and play experts at Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities and will be designated as Me2 sites. Both play areas have been awarded the designation as GameTime National Demonstration Sites. (View this project on the Interactive Map.)
Grant funding, generous discounts from GameTime following the arson damage, along with design collaboration and project coordination with GameTime representative and long time Novato resident, Leo Seavey allowed the City to move forward with the replacement of both play structures. The design of the new play areas included contributions from community partners, including Hennessy Funds, Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise, the Ncho-Oguie Family, Mitch and Terry Nilsen Family Charitable Fund, Chaput Family, Emery Hughes Family, Project Awareness and Special Sports, and Bank of Marin.
The play areas are not yet complete and will see the addition of two large shade umbrellas and new benches along the tiled wall between the play structures. These improvements will be made as soon as possible and are expected to be complete by Summer 2024.
Location
Pioneer Park, 1007 Simmons Lane in Novato
Benefit
This project will provide more opportunities for Novato and the larger regional community to actively participate and play at Pioneer Park through upgraded amenities.
Schedule
The play areas are NOW OPEN! Additional shade structures and benches will be added but have been delayed due to supply chain issues. We expect to complete these improvement by Summer 2024.
Cost
Approximately $1,000,000
Additional Info
Background Information
On July 23, 2019, the Novato City Council adopted Resolution 2019-055, authorizing Parks, Recreation, & Community Services (PRCS) to apply for the Statewide Healthy Play Initiative (SHPI) funding opportunity, to accept any funds awarded, and to authorize the City Manager to execute any contracts necessary to implement the funds. The funding opportunity, through the California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS), PlayCore and the GameTime funding initiative for outdoor play and recreation spaces, matches applicant funding for the purpose of purchasing play structure equipment. The City Council authorized PRCS to apply for match funding up to $50,000. At that time, the resolution did not specify the funding source of the City's share of the total cost.
On September 23, 2019, staff received notice that $50,000 in grant funding had been awarded toward the purchase of an inclusive play structure.
Location Selection & More Inclusive Design
City staff had identified an area in Pioneer Park, specifically the smaller of the park's two play structure areas, to be the ideal location to utilize the grant award to replace existing facilities. The facilities at this highly utilized park, installed in 2000, had surpassed their expected useful life of fifteen years, and became difficult to maintain as product replacement parts are no longer available.
In order to deliver a more inclusive play area that better meets community expectations, staff worked with GameTime representatives to design a structure in which children of all abilities would be able to utilize a larger percentage of the amenities as opposed to limited satellite elements. Striving to better meet the broader definition of an inclusive play structure requires the structure to have an accessible path of travel throughout the majority of the structure, and to include larger accessible play pieces, accessible ramps, landing and railings.
Community Input Overview
On November 4, 2019, staff conducted a community workshop and received feedback from the community as well as identified several additional play elements/amenities that are highly desirable to families with children who have adaptive needs, including a perimeter fence around the structures footprint.
Funding
On November 12, 2019, the City Council approved amending Budget Resolution 2018-45 to transfer funds from LTM Facilities (118) in the amount of $80,000 from Accessibility Enhancement - Municipal Buildings (CIP 17-002) to Accessibility Enhancements - Parks (CIP 17-003), increasing the projected budget by $130,000. The budgeted project included the accessible, inclusive play structure, rubberized play surface in limited areas to provide access connecting park walkways to the entry and exit locations of the structure, and a fence surrounding the small play area to create a more secure space for families.
Some highly desired elements/amenities requested by the community remained unfunded including: rubberized play surface around the entire play structure, a larger area of fencing to enclose both the small play area (project area) and the adjacent large play area, accessory play features such as an accessible whirl and expression swings (swings able to accommodate children or adults with mobility concerns). Staff estimated these costs to be approximately $170,000.
A generous donation of $10,000 was received by Hennessy Advisors, Inc. in support of the project. Staff continued to seek community sponsorships to support delivering all elements/amenities on the community’s wish list for the project.
The new play structure was purchased on November 14, 2019 with the original SHPI grant funding and construction on the project was planned to begin in early 2020. The Shelter in Place Order issued by Marin County Public Health Department on March 16, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, delayed the progress of this project in 2020, and provided staff time to seek additional funding opportunities for this project to expand the scope to better meet the needs of the community.
On August 22, 2023, Council approved an additional $300,000 from insurance reserves to cover the arson damages and to complete the installation of the new adaptive play structures and accessibility improvements at Pioneer Park.
Contact Information
Project Manager
Elisa Sarlatte, Senior Civil Engineer
415.899.8963
esarlatte@novato.org
Katie Gauntlett, Parks, Recreation & Community Services Director
415.899.8228
kgauntlett@novato.org