Garrison Park to have new playground
by JENNIFER SIKORA Assistant Copy Editor

One of the five local parks in the Village of Williamsville - Garrison Park - will soon be completely revitalized, with a new playground that should be especially enjoyable for children.

At the Village Board meeting Monday night, Tracy Galuski, president of Friends of Williamsville, presented the board with the new design for the park's playground, which was approved last week at the Parks Committee meeting.

Even though Galuski is not a member of the committee, she has taken the initiative to help coordinate and make recommendations to the committee and parents during the project.

She has also helped with creating the design of the forest green-colored unit. This is an opportunity, not only for her own 3-year-old to be able to play somewhere safe, but for other children as well.

"Generally, playgrounds are rated as either ages 2 to 5 or 5 to 12, and this is a public park, so we really need a 2-to-12-type item," she said.

After reviewing several catalogs, Galuski said she thought the playgrounds were dull and children wouldn't be interested in them. Eventually the committee found a design rated for children ages 5 to 12 and conservative enough that even the little ones can make it to the top without falling off, a problem with the existing playground.

The new unit would include a large platform on top, allowing parents to join their children, and a border or edging all around it so children would not fall.

A lot of mothers who have children between the ages of 9 and 11 looked at the design and commented on it, saying it would be interesting, Galuski said.

The playground which is bordered by Garrison Road, South Ellicott Street and Park Drive, would be the same size as the current one. Some new items would include a rock wall, tree climber, bubble climbing wall and "twisty" slide.

Also, a "gizmo wall" will be added for children ages 1 to 2. It is a wall at their height, where they will to be able to turn and knock on various devices as well as to sound buzzers.

"It is going to be something great for the community. They're excited to build it, and we have people volunteering. The Pizza Kitchen wants to donate food; we had people volunteer a band for the community build day. It would really be a nice community event to put this up," said Galuski.

The anticipated date for completion is Monday, June 23, with Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21, being the two days the community will spend putting the equipment together.

The budget for the playground is estimated to be around $30,000. Some of the funds are being received from The Friends of Williamsville Park, which is donating $6,000 and also Jolly Boys, which is contributing $5,000. The rest of the funding is coming from the village's Parks Equipment Fund, which will give the committee enough money to put up the unit and have extra money for any unseen costs that may arise.

The budget also includes paying for a supervisor to be there for one to two days. The committee hired a supervisor from Titan Development, a certified installer. The supervisor will be there the first day to give the community direction on where to dig holes, on what they need, how to prepare and how to get the soil ready. The cost is $800. The second day he will spend at an additional $600 cost, supervising the community volunteers who will install the unit.

It was suggested that during these two days, 10 to 15 people will each take a three- to four-hour shift, estimating that at least 50 volunteers are needed.

The new playground will be handicapped-accessible and meet all Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

Trustee Brian Geary remarked that residents - mostly younger couples - tell him that they are here because of the schools and parks.

"As long as you have good schools and good parks it really makes people happy, and that has been the No. 1 thing everybody has been asking for," he said.

The pool at Garrison Park will also have a saline system installed, which will save money on chlorine and in maintenance for the village.

"It just needed to be done; nothing's been touched in 20 years, actually that is 20-plus years," said Geary.