Safety Harbor Named a Playful City USA Again

Take a quick ride through town and it doesn't take long to realize Safety Harbor is passionate about parks and recreation.

With eight outdoor parks - six boasting playgrounds - there's no question the community, and the city government, is dedicated to providing safe, quality play areas for area families.

KaBOOM!, a national non-profit that is devoted to "saving play for America's children" has noticed Safety Harbor's commitment to excellence in this department as well; the organization recently named Safety Harbor to its Playful City USA list for 2012.

"This was the fifth consecutive year we were named to the list," Recreation Superintendent Shannon Schafer said. "We were thrilled to receive the honor again."

According to the KaBOOM! website, Playful City USA is a distinction awarded to communities that "demonstrated creative commitments to addressing the Play Deficit. Playful City USA...celebrates and highlights these unique initiatives developed by communities across the country."

The organization named 213 communities to its list for this year. Of those a whopping 29 were in the state of Florida, but just four were in the Tampa Bay area, with New Port Richey, Tampa and Oldsmar joining Safety Harbor.

And of the 213 communities, only 43 have made the list five or six times, which puts Safety Harbor in pretty elite company.

"People love our parks," City Manager Matt Spoor said. "A while back we took some grant money that we had and upgraded the parks, did a lot of infrastructure work."

"We have a lot of families in town, and that's where they spend a lot of time on nights and weekends."

Schafer concurs with Spoor regarding the importance of parks and playgrounds in town.

She credits the Park Pals program with helping maintain the playgrounds, and forming partnerships with local organizations, such as the Safety Harbor Middle School, the Sheriff's Youth Ranch and All Pro Dads, to keep the playgrounds an integral part of the community.

"A lot of cities may opt to close parks due to budget restrictions," she said. "But we do not."