Clayton officials open renovated playground at Donald Clyde Sinclair Park

Town officials and community members gathered at Donald Clyde Sinclair Park in Clayton for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open a renovated playground that town leaders say is ADA-accessible and designed for multiple age groups.

"Clayton's a wonderful place to live, work, and play," Mayor Jody McLeod said, praising parks and recreation staff and calling the playground replacement "a great day for the town of Clayton." Council Member Amanda Underwood, the town council's parks and recreation liaison, said the project includes separate areas for different age groups, updated equipment and ADA-accessible surfacing and added that the work was funded through the town's parks general obligation bond, which the council approved last August.

Todd Riddick, the town's newly appointed parks and recreation director, introduced partners and staff who contributed to the project and recognized volunteers and maintenance crews. He highlighted John Bars of Bars Recreation, the contractor on this and a prior project in town, and thanked maintenance lead Jimmy Bradley and the parks and recreation team for ongoing upkeep.

Town Manager Rich Capela thanked engineering, capital project and communications staff and described the playground as a possible "generational project" for families. Riddick noted the park was renamed in 2022 and quoted Mr. Sinclair saying at the renaming that "it's not about me. It's about my father's last name," framing the playground as part of continuing community stewardship.

Officials said the new playground completes the town's program of replacing all playgrounds since 2020 and signaled continued investment in parks and recreation as Clayton grows. No formal votes or motions were taken at the ceremony; the gathering focused on recognition, funding acknowledgment and community celebration.