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Commissioners to consider $700,000 DNR grant for fully adaptive playground
Summary
Parks staff told the board a $700,000 DNR matching grant would fund a fully adaptive playground at the Weitzman Road School soccer complex, recommending a design-competition procurement (five vendors, $625,000 design cap) and using SPLOST 5 funds for the county match.
Parks and recreation staff asked the board to accept a $700,000 DNR grant and authorize a procurement approach to deliver a fully adaptive playground at the Weitzman Road School soccer complex site.
"The total was $700,000 for the grant," a parks official (speaker 10) told commissioners, explaining the grant is a 50/50 match (the county had earmarked $350,000 in SPLOST 5 for the match). Staff proposed asking five playground companies to design proposals within a $625,000 design cap and reserving the remaining $75,000 for site amenities and landscaping; the plan is to assemble a selection committee to pick the preferred design. Staff estimated preparatory work in the fall with construction starting around December–January and completion in spring, and noted that the procurement must follow DNR/federal pass-through rules.
Why it matters: a fully adaptive playground would be the county's first 100% accessible play area, offering equipment usable for children of all abilities. Commissioners asked about procurement details, timeline and federal bidding requirements; staff said SPLOST 5 funds were already set aside and recommended the design-competition approach to avoid scope creep.
Next steps: staff will bring the resolution to adopt and accept the grant to the board for a vote and seek permission for the chairman to execute the final documents when the grant is awarded.
