Max Berg Playground Set For Replacement in 4 Months

By Tiffany Ujiiye --

Max Berg Plaza Park will soon get new, universally accessible playground equipment, pending approval by the San Clemente City Council May 21.

Park Planner Aeryn Donnely outlined the proposed design for the play area Tuesday at a meeting of the San Clemente Beaches, Parks and Recreation Commission.

Park staffers identified the existing playground equipment as the most in need of replacement of all the city parks. The parks and recreation commission seeks approval of new age 2-5 and age 5-12 playground equipment -- accessible to both able-bodied and disabled children -- from GameTime, a Playcore company, Donnely said.

Through the U.S. Communities Cooperative Purchase -- with approval from City Council members -- the existing playground equipment will be declared as surplus and donated to Kids Around the World, a non-profit organization, for installation in another park in need somewhere in the world, Donnely said.

The coordinated efforts between park planners and Kids Around the World will reduce the purchase price by $57,000 for the new playground, as well as reduce demolition costs by $3,000 through recycling the old equipment, Donnely said.

This partnership will enable the project to meet the budget, she said.

Children at the park voted by placing stickers on different visual renderings of park designs to choose the one they liked most. 

“The white dots are their votes,” Donnely said, pointing to the purple and aquamarine playground poster she presented at the meeting. “We like to refer to this color as the 'Skittles color,' and this is the playground that will be estimated to be installed within the next four months.”