With new Central Park playground equipment ready to be installed next month, the City of Tracy is putting a call out for volunteers to help make the process a smooth and quick one
City parks are definitely a hot spot during the month of July since that’s typically where groups and towns gather for holiday picnics and fireworks.
In Tracy, however, the excitement won’t hit its biggest park until after the hoopla of the 4th dies down. That’s because the City, weather permitting, plans on using the second week of July to set up the brand-new playground equipment that will serve as the literal centerpiece in the heart of Central Park.
The installation of the prodigious playground — it has a 88’x120’ oval-shaped footprint — is tentatively scheduled to begin Monday, July 7.
“It’s super exciting,” said Tracy City Deputy Clerk Diane Campbell, who has been a force behind turning the addition of the new multistructure playground equipment to Central Park from the discussion stages to the boots-onthe- ground stage. “It’s just an overall exciting project.”
After getting in on what amounted to a halfprice discount, the total cost of the equipment, including hardware, is $187,533.87. That includes more than $18,000 for freight and that does not include the engineered wood chip surface that will be put in, or the $2,000 per day charge for a Play & Park Structures consultant who will be onsite to oversee the project.
How long it will take for compete installation depends on the weather and, more importantly, how many volunteers show up to help.
The high cost of paying someone to run the show is the reason the City is asking for volunteers — the more expediting that goes into the installation, the less the City would have to pay the supervisor.
“We have him scheduled for five days,” said Campbell. “Whether or not we’ll need him for five days, we don’t know. That’s kind of why we’re trying to get a schedule put together for volunteers; we don’t want everybody to show up the first day and have no one there the next day. Maybe we’ll divide them into teams, but we won’t be sure until we get the supervisor here.”
Some of the playgrounds features include a large tower, a large spinner, a zip-line, mommy-and-me swings and musical features as well.
“We wanted to put stuff in there that you don’t see at other parks, yet we also wanted to keep the staples,” said Campbell.
Campbell said the sweet spot for volunteers is eight people to join Public Works employees and other City officials.
“I know the fire department is going to help one day,” said Campbell. “We hope to keep everyone busy and not standing around and wasting their time, that’s why we’re looking at scheduling it — the most impact with the least amount of downtime.”
The equipment has been stored in town since this winter.
After the equipment has been installed, the safety surface will be put down, and there will be a certain amount of time — about seven to 10 days — before the public will be allowed to use it to let any cement that is used to dry and cure. The structure will be fenced off during that time.
The current main playground structure located near the bandshell was installed sometime in the mid-1970s.
The new playground is a big step to overall park improvements but it certainly isn’t the only one planned. Park advocates also would like to update the water and electrical systems in the park, construct a cement walking loop and construct a warming house for the ice skating rink.
“We hope that this will encourage more people to donate so we can complete other (park projects),” said Campbell. “We can’t do the walking loop or anything else until we get the funds for it. We’re hoping that (the playground) ignites some excitement and gets people to donate. We’re not done.”
If anyone wants to help but aren’t able to take part with the labor, Campbell said the City is accepting donations for food and drinks to keep the volunteers going.
“We have to feed them a morning meal, an afternoon lunch and supper,” she said. “If someone can’t donate their time but want to participate this is one way to do it.”
Donations for this specific project can be brought to or mailed to City Hall. Residents can also call Campbell at 629-5533 for more information.
