General Recreation, Inc.

Untraditional bid process and design put park on the Lowcountry map

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The City of Charleston Parks and Recreation Department wanted a playground that was a unique addition to the Lowcountry landscape. And the department was willing to facilitate a non-traditional bid process to get it. Deputy Director Matt Compton has learned over his 15 years of park development that you can’t do a competitive bid without eliminating the cost. “So, we took the dollar value out of the evaluation,” explains Compton.

“We asked our vendors who represent the top in the industry to prepare up to three plans to fit our budget. Then, we set cost aside and evaluated the plans solely on aesthetics, services and product quality.”

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The City of Pittsburgh’s aquatic playgrounds make a splash

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Troy Hill and Beechview aren’t your ordinary playgrounds. And, they’re winning awards. They are part of the City of Pittsburgh’s master plan to replace old swimming pools with aquatic playgrounds. About six years ago, City Parks Director Duane Ashley began to research aquatic parks and presented the idea to the mayor.

“We were interested in developing new play areas that are fun and accessible, as well as safe and cost-effective. Aquatic playgrounds fit that bill. They’re growing in popularity around the country, and for good reason, ” says Ashley.

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Phase one of Bayview Park Helps keep Georgetown beautiful

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Bayview Park sits on a knoll among grand live oaks that are several hundred years old in the City of Georgetown. The park was the City’s most recent revitalization project, phase one of Keep Georgetown Beautiful’s multi-phase initiative to elevate the quality of every park in the region. Executive Director Keith Wilson also says their goal also is to create cohesiveness from park to park. “We want the same caliber park in every neighborhood,” he explains.

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Shared vision for innovation drives memorial playground in Pilesgrove-Woodstown, New Jersey

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Pilesgrove-Woodstown, New Jersey, is a small community with a big heart. In 2007, the community rallied together to build a playground in honor of John Vascek, Jr., a local young man who died in a motorcycle accident in 2004. “His family established the John Vascek, Jr. Memorial Foundation to keep his name alive, while donating to charitable causes. John loved children, so it was a perfect fit for the foundation to fund a new playground that would also be a memorial,” recalls Jamie Danner, treasurer of the Pilesgrove-Woodstown Recreation Commission’s board of directors.

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New playgrounds complement program for at-risk youth

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When the Clemson Road Child Development Program in Richland School District Two received stimulus funding this year, the program’s lead teacher, Debbie Brady, was excited to learn that the district and Title I Coordinator, Dr. Marsha Moseley, had great ideas on how to use it. The funding opened the door to improving the play areas at five of the program’s nine sites across the district. Keels Elementary School and Windsor Elementary School were first on the list.

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