Children like Dave Roberts’ daughter, who has cerebral palsy, will someday be able to enjoy a playground in Maumelle alongside those who don’t have special needs.
He knows, because he designed it.
“Inclusive means all,” Roberts said. “When they play together, they don’t see disabilities; they just play. … They jump in and do it, which is why you need spaces where they can do it together.”
Roberts, director of planning for the
design firm Crafton Tull, is also a member of Maumelle’s Planning Committee for Play and Splash, an all-inclusive playground and splash pad.
The goal is to raise $800,000 for the park to be built on city property at Lake Pointe Place and Lake Pointe Drive near the tennis courts, City Hall and the library. A bathroom on the site will be expanded as well, Roberts said.
He said people might think $800,000 is “crazy,” but the playground will have a rubber surface and “the latest state-of-the-art equipment and play structures” that can be shared by children of all abilities.
“The theme to it, because it’s right next to the library on Lake Valencia, we did an Arkansas fishing-hole-type theme,” Roberts said.
The middle of the surface is blue, he said, and the playground has blues, greens “and aquatic-type colors.” Panels on the side of the playground equipment continue the theme, and the splash pad has vertical spray pieces designed like cattails, he said.
“It makes sense for the setting,” he said.
“There are a lot of things that bring kids together,” he said. A “big spinner” is a feature that children in wheelchairs, like his daughter, Alex, can be lifted into and ride with other children. Another piece of equipment “sways like a boat,” and children in wheelchairs can roll into it, he said.
The park will have decorative fencing so parents or other caregivers don’t have to worry about children running away, said Phillip Raborn, director of the Maumelle Parks and Recreation Department. There will be shade structures as well.
He said the signage being considered will be inscribed: “Play and Splash, a park for everyone.”
Raborn said he had wanted to build an all-inclusive playground for a while, “but due to budget cuts hadn’t gotten it approved yet.”
Roberts said he envisions Play and Splash, “right in the heart of Maumelle, attracting visitors from surrounding cities. It’s going to be a destination,” he said. “When they hear about it, someone might come from Conway or Beebe. … They’re going to come over, play, maybe eat at Chick-fil-A, buy something at Kroger and go home.”
Roberts said he was hired six years ago to help Maumelle with its strategic plan …. and decided Maumelle was a good place to live for his daughter, now 18, to attend school.
“I’m a landscape architect — that’s my degree. I was designing inclusive playgrounds even before she was born,” he said.
Roberts has designed five other all-inclusive playgrounds, including one at Mills Park in Bryant.
City Councilman Rick Anderson saw a Facebook post about the Bryant playground and contacted Roberts and asked why Maumelle didn’t have one.
“I said, ‘Put a committee together, and we’ll make it happen,’” Roberts said. Councilwoman Terry Williams also got involved, Raborn said.
“Now we’re in the fundraising part, which is the hardest part,” Roberts said.
Raborn, who also serves on the Playground Committee as an adviser, said outside funding sources are being sought to avoid using city funds.
“We’re trying to do it all outside [city money]. What may happen, when we get closer, we may try to finish it out through my budget, parks and recreation,” he said.
To date, Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation has committed to giving $50,000; “Kimberly-Clark is trying to do something in-house — they’re looking at trying to raise $50,000. Crafton Tull has donated $1,000, and the Lions Club has donated $5,000 and committed to another $5,000 next year,” Raborn said. In addition, a Red Basket crowdfunding campaign raised $3,323.
Roberts said naming rights for the playground are being sought, which require a $200,000 tax-deductible
donation.
“We’re looking at trying to get naming rights on the park; we’re talking to some of the industries here in Maumelle. We’ve got some feelers out right now but nothing set in stone,” he said.
When will ground be broken?
“That’s the million-dollar question; it depends on the funding,” Raborn said.
An additional committee member who is looking forward to the project is Ashley Washam, named Educator of the Year by the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce. She teaches special-needs students at Maumelle Middle School.
“There’s [an inclusive playground] at Burns Park, but we need to have one for our parents. These kids do better at a splash pad than a swimming pool,” she said.
Now that his daughter is a senior in high school, Roberts said, she will probably use the splash pad more than the playground.
But it’s not just about her. It’s about all children.
The key word, Roberts said, is “all.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.