SEBASTIAN — It won’t be long and children from all over Sebastian will be able to walk the plank and shiver their timbers at Creative Playground when the new Jolly Voyager Pirate Ship playground equipment is installed.
The ship is due to arrive in Sebastian around the week of Dec. 10 and installation could take a week and a half, according to Parks Supervisor Chris McCarthy.
The $77,000 playground equipment will cost the city an extra $5,000 for the rubber mulch to accompany it, City Manager Al Minner told the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Monday evening.
“We didn’t have a choice on that one,” Minner said, explaining that ADA requirements would not allow the city to place new sand around the equipment.
The committee had discussed potentially placing solid rubber surfacing under portions of the equipment, such as under the slides, but was informed that option would be cost prohibitive.
Instead, Minner recommended wood mulch at a cost of $2,000, but members of the committee opposed it.
The committee said it would rather have rubber mulch, though it would cost $5,000.
Members of the committee were shown a sample of the rubber mulch at Monday’s meeting. Joanne White said that it was finer than that used at Easy Street Park. Rubber mulch is also used at Blossom Street Park.
While children will have to wait a few more weeks before the pirate ship is installed, families can expect to see other improvements in the coming days.
On Wednesday, the city expects to start installing shade canopies similar to those found at the Splash Pad at Riverview Park. The canopies at Creative Playground will be on the west end of the park and will provide shade for those using picnic tables and benches.
The city budgeted $100,000 for Creative Playground, using Recreation Impact Fees to fund the work.
When Sebastian’s Creative Playground was erected decades ago through a private partnership between the city and local clubs and civic organizations, it represented the cutting edge in recreation equipment for kids. It was a labyrinth of forts and passageways and slides and tunnels.
Portions of the wooden components of the playground fell into disrepair over the years and had to be torn down for safety reasons.
The Sebastian City Council approved purchasing the Jolly Voyager at a meeting in October.
