Coventry’s Harris Playground Gets $100K DEM Equipment Grant

COVENTRY, RI — Harris Playground is getting a $100,000 upgrade with ADA accessible paths, new swing sets and other equipment to be determined,  its first play structure refresh in decades.

The funding comes thanks to the Department of Environmental Management(DEM)’s community recreation grant program. Governor Dan McKee and DEM announced the funding as part of $2 million in matching grants to 11 municipalities improving outdoor recreational facilities in their communities. The funding will allow Coventry Parks and Recreation to install playground equipment at Harris Playground for the first time since the remnants of its hazardously aging playground gear was removed in 2018, said Raena Blumenthal, director of Coventry Parks and Recreation.

When Blumenthal started as director in 2018, she surveyed the town’s playgrounds, learning that all of the equipment in Coventry’s playgrounds had aged past the point of usefulness, bearing sharp edges and worn elements that were more safety hazards than fun attractions. Coventry’s playgrounds, she said were, ‘out of safety standards.” Harris Playground’s remaining equipment at the time dated back to the 1970s and 1980s.

All the aging equipment at the town’s playgrounds had to be removed, leaving only a tot lot in front of the library she was able to install at the time. Since then, Harris Playground has only boasted a basketball court, and an open grass fenced-in space, with a lonely tire swing hanging from a tree just outside the fence on Cedar Street.

Grants allow Coventry playgrounds’ rebuilding

Recent grants have allowed the department to begin rebuilding the sites for kid and families in the communities. In addition to the DEM grant for Harris Playground federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is being pursued to rebuild Quidneck Park on McArthur Boulevard near the West Warwick border and Our Lady of Czestochowa.

Most of the details of new equipment for Harris Playground has yet to be determined, since the Parks and Rec. Department has to post a request for bids and select among the applicants, Blumenthal said. But she can say for certain there will be swing sets. Also, the new playground will be ADA-accessible, so that people of all ages and physical ability can enjoy the playground. Grandparents in scooters and kids using wheelchairs will be able to enter and enjoy the park, she said. There will also be equipment usable by children of all abilities.

Blumenthal is excited about bringing updated, safe playground equipment back to Harris Playground and the town’s other playgrounds, she said.

“It’s important to have playgrounds for the community,” Blumenthal said.

Future DEM grants boosted in McKee’s new budget

Applications were evaluated and scored by the Rhode Island Recreation Resources Review Committee, consisting of government and non-profit members using the Open Project Selection Process developed under the 2019 State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). The grants, which require a community match and range from $60,000 to $400,000, are funded through the $50 million 2022 Green Bond. The grants will be matched by local funding to generate over $ 2.5 million in recreational project improvements throughout Rhode Island. The program offers funding in three categories: small development grants with funding awards up to $100,000, large development grants with awards up to $400,000, and acquisition funds that support property acquisition for permanent outdoor recreation with awards up to $400,000.

“While we celebrate the projects that received grants, this is a highly popular grant program and we acknowledge that not every applicant is able to receive funding,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “DEM is grateful that Governor McKee has proposed a Green Bond in his budget that would include increased funding for these valuable investments in our communities. This funding will help us meet the demand for this very popular program in the future. We encourage communities to keep an eye out for future program announcements and join DEM for grant application workshops and other opportunities to sharpen the descriptions of their terrific projects.”