LITTLE VALLEY — Children in the Little Valley community now have a new playground to enjoy featuring beautiful playground equipment that is sure to keep them moving and entertained.
Located on First Street near the pool and basketball court, the Village of Little Valley finished installing the new playground equipment Aug. 26. The equipment features a variety of activities including swings, slides, ramps and ladders, climbing features and walkways connecting towers as well as a picnic table on the side where parents can relax while their children play.
Mayor Jim Bowen said the project was done by the village’s Department of Public Works (DPW) including the site work, prep work and installation of the playground equipment. He said there was no playground at the location before this one was built, just an open field, so it was easy for them to construct.
“The DPW guys had all the equipment needed to clear that section of the field and prepare the site, then assemble the playground equipment itself, which was relatively simple,” the mayor said.
The new playground will leave a positive mark on the community for many years to come, Bowen said. Its equipment is made of durable, all-weather composite materials that will add to its longevity. The equipment is surrounded by shredded tires in the form of rubber mulch for safety.
“It’s a public playground and anybody is welcome to use it,” he said. “I’m very happy with the way it turned out.”
Bowen said the idea for a playground came about after Craig Bedell, a village board member, was at a Little League baseball game at the ball field adjacent to the new playground site.
“The family sitting next to him had some little kids that weren’t involved in the game and they commented that there really wasn’t anything for little kids to do while their brothers and sisters were in the game,” he said.
Bowen said that comment from the family to Bedell is what drove the idea of a playground. He said the project started when Bedell brought the idea to the board meeting at the end of April or sometime in May.
“Everybody on the board was on board with it, as well as any residents we talked to thought it was a good idea as well, so we moved forward,” the mayor said. “We found a few different designs to choose from in a catalog. We chose one that met most of our needs while staying within our reasonable financial restraints. Work began the beginning of August.”
According to Bowen, no grants or community donations were needed. He said the project was funded with some remaining money the village had leftover from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program authorized by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act.
“We used some of the ARP COVID Relief Fund money. It came up at the meeting that we needed to come up with a plan for the remaining ARP COVID Relief Fund money that we had left and the playground made sense,” he said.
