“Keep up the good work,” said Mayor Jeffery Kaplan at last Tuesday evening's Design Day event for the Ellenville Community Playground Project. The project's designer, John Dean of Leathers & Associates, an Ithaca-based company, spent the entire day at Ellenville Elementary School, meeting with 850 students from kindergarten through fifth grade, brainstorming to create the perfect playground for Ellenville.

The day began with a site review; Dean, along with Fawn Morosky, the project's coordinator, and village manager Elliott Auerbach, met on Berme Road in Ellenville, to determine which of two sites the playground would be constructed on. After assessing the area, Dean returned to the school and spent the day visiting students and hosting assemblies, gathering input that he later used to create a preliminary sketch for the $100,000 project.

Dean, who spoke at the design's unveiling, told the story of how he became inspired by community playground projects over twenty years ago, when he was approached by volunteers in his community who were participating in a similar project. Reluctantly, Dean agreed to a “Thursday-night shift,” and he explained that his stint as a volunteer became his passion. Since then, Dean has spent the last nineteen years with Leathers & Associates, traveling the world and designing unique playgrounds for various communities.

The preliminary playground designed by Dean and the elementary students contains a number of unique features, including a 'totlot' for younger children, a castle maze, fire truck and firehouse, a pirate ship, and a “dino-dig”. The playground also employs more traditional ideas, such as swings, slides, climbing ropes and monkey bars. “There are a number of handicap-accessible areas in the playground too,” adds Morosky, “including ramps and a swing - we want every child to feel included.”

Morosky has been thinking about a community playground project for years, but after a trip to Montana two summers ago, she was ready to begin. “I approached Elliott Auerbach,” explains Morosky, “He said there was a grant, but nobody to use it.” The grant covers $25,000 of the building cost, and must be matched through fundraising. The Ellenville Playground committee, composed of approximately a dozen members, is on their way to their $100,000 goal, though that price tag depends on what materials will be donated.

“This playground is something that will not only provide for our children, but will also set us apart from surrounding communities,” suggests Ellenville- Wawarsing Chamber of Commerce President, Holly Houghtaling. “The playground location at Berme Road will increase the amount of traffic that drives through the town and up the village streets. Increased traffic means increased business,” she says.

Because of the benefits of the project, Houghtaling says she will work to encourage community business involvement, which she feels will be to the playground's advantage. “We need nearly eight hundred volunteers to execute the project,” says Morosky. In addition to the continual fundraising efforts, volunteers are needed to build, cook, and provide childcare at the construction site.

The project, which is slated to take place next May, will occur over a five-day period. “It's a modern- day barn-raising,” says Dean, “and it starts with the kids.”

For more information on the Community Playground Project, or for information on how to volunteer, contact Fawn at (845) 594-7653.

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