$900K of playground equipment sits in storage for city park project
Groundbreaking for $2.2M project sought this year
Trending
YOUNGSTOWN - More than $900,000 worth of equipment for an all-inclusive playground project at Ipe Park is sitting in storage while the city coordinates the work.
Clemate Franklin, the city's parks and recreation director, said the equipment, which cost $901,198, "is currently being stored at a secure city-owned property under surveillance. This protects the city's investment while we coordinate the necessary site work and receive the installation schedule from the playground structure company. The equipment being stored should not be interpreted as the city abandoning or stopping the project."
Franklin said: "The work still to be completed includes preparing the site for installation and coordinating the infrastructure and accessibility improvements needed to support the playground. This includes the entrance, parking and how children and families will safely move into and throughout the playground area."
During her last meeting on city council in December 2023, a month after losing to Amber White, Basia Adamczak set aside $1.3 million of her ward's $2 million American Rescue Plan funds to have the Youngstown Foundation serve as fiscal agent for the project to turn the location on East Midlothian Boulevard into the city's first all-inclusive park and what was to be the biggest such park in the state.
When White joined city council in January 2024, she unsuccessfully tried to get the legislative body to overturn the allocation. At the time, she said the project needed a considerable amount of additional money to be finished with no definitive plan to find it.
But recently the Youngstown Foundation agreed to provide $600,000 to finish the long-awaited project.
On Monday, White said: "The initial execution was definitely not well thought out. Pre-purchasing over $900,000 in equipment without having the complete funding or an installation plan in place is why that equipment sat in storage at the wastewater department while our park sat empty. That cart-before-the-horse approach trapped the city. It took outside leadership from the Youngstown Foundation and professional planning from the (Economic Action Group) to step in, structure a phased plan and figure out how to safely get that equipment out of storage and into the ground for our community."
White said the project "started out terribly. My initial concerns and attempts to rescind the legislation were completely justified based on how chaotic and underfunded the original plan was. But I give credit where it's due: the Youngstown Foundation and EAG stepped up to fix a mess that my constituents shouldn't have had to wait on. While the early management was deeply frustrating, I am relieved that we now have the philanthropic backing and professional planning necessary to deliver the park 7th Ward residents deserve before federal deadlines."
Records provided by the city to The Vindicator show the project's total cost is $2,208,858.
In addition to the $1.3 million from the ARP allocation, Mahoning County provided $242,100 from its ARP funds, the city's public works department covered $66,758 and $600,000 from the Youngstown Foundation.
White said: "What went wrong initially was that this project was underfunded and poorly structured from day one."
But with the Youngstown Foundation agreeing last month to provide the $600,000, the money "effectively saved the project and made it financially viable," White said. "Furthermore, bringing EAG on board was the exact move needed to correct the course. They have finally created a realistic, actionable phase breakdown so we can move forward with confidence instead of guesswork."
Besides the equipment, the project's largest expenses are $692,400 for turf surface, $356,500 for installation and $225,000 for park site work, according to records provided to The Vindicator.
Franklin said: "I would not characterize the current situation as a funding gap in the sense that the city does not have the resources to move the project forward. The original $1.3 million in American Rescue Plan funding allocated to Ipe Park has been committed and encumbered for the project."
Franklin said: "There will continue to be opportunities to bring additional dollars into the project beyond the original ARP allocation. Those funds can help support future amenities and improvements that build upon the original plan. We anticipate reaching out to community partners, foundations, businesses, sponsors and residents so the community can have ownership and buy-in as this project moves forward."
Franklin also said the park's "original plan will remain the same - as a playground. We are committed to delivering the all-inclusive playground as originally planned."
The city wants to break ground on the project by the end of the year, weather permitting, Franklin said, adding that he doesn't have a firm completion date as there are issues - including weather, site conditions, contractor scheduling and installation requirements - that could delay it.
Part of the reason the project has taken longer is the parks and recreation department has worked on more than 17 projects using ARP funds, Franklin said.
Franklin said: "Managing that volume of work, along with coordinating the site preparation and installation requirements for Ipe Park, has contributed to the timeline."