Tenafly to pursue inclusive playground equipment for Walnut Park; $50,000 included in capital plan

Council members on Feb. 18 discussed installing inclusive-playground equipment at Walnut Park and agreed to pursue grant funding and equipment procurement while evaluating restroom needs.

The council has included $50,000 in the capital plan for inclusive equipment at Walnut Park and asked staff to pursue grant opportunities rather than rely solely on borough funds.

A council member noted the $50,000 capital allocation and asked whether the project should be advanced as a grant application or listed as a separate capital project. "I want to put the bathroom. I think that Walnut needs the bathroom," one member said, while others warned that building an enclosed restroom could disqualify some open-space grant programs: "4 walls disqualify open space," a council member said.

Staff and council members discussed interim options such as porta-potties but noted neighborhood impacts; one member advised checking county cooperative vendors to avoid higher procurement costs: "Bergen Countyis doing an inclusive park in Saddle River, so they might already have a cheaper vendor," a council member said.

Administrator David confirmed there is no legal or engineering barrier to placing inclusive equipment in Walnut Park and said staff would pursue equipment procurement and grant applications in parallel. Council members asked staff to evaluate the need for a permanent restroom, potential funding sources (private grants and open-space funds) and procurement options through county cooperatives.

No formal vote was recorded on a contract or vendor; the council directed staff to continue planning and to return with grant-application recommendations and any required funding requests.