Discovery Playground Reopens After Facelift

Tarpon Springs Mayor David O. Archie was greeted by a crowd of anxious youngsters as he helped celebrate Discovery Playground's new and improved look.

The park, located at 150 Jasmine Ave., was in pretty bad shape before the city took over the role of repairing it.

"Sixteen years ago, the community came together and helped to build this playground," Archie told a group of Tarpon Springs youth on Monday, July 15.

After cutting the ribbon, the multitude of kids ran by city officials to try out the new equipment.

Earlier this year, the City Commission approved $162,750 in funds to add new equipment and safety features to the playground.

After being built with wood and metal parts in 1997, the playground started to wear.

Commissioner Jeff Larsen was happy to be a part of the ribbon-cutting, along with City Manager Mark LeCouris, Police Chief Robert Kochen and Public Works Director Tom Funcheon.

"A lot of this had to do with safety concerns," Larsen said.

A zip-line was replaced with a modern jungle gym, swings were removed and rotted wood was replaced with a more durable material that looks almost identical. 

Since the park is located inside the Tarpon Sports Complex, the city tried to do the repairs during a slower time of year at the complex.

"Some people were bothered that the playground was shut down during the summer, but we specifically wanted to do it during a season when there wasn't a bunch of sports going on," Larsen said. 

Although the park's closing could have been looked at as an inconvenience to some residents, the facelift took less than a month to complete.

A highlight of the project was that the contractor built much of the new playground as opposed to pre-manufactured materials. 

What do you think of the new and improved Discovery Playground, Tarpon Springs? Let us know in the comments section below.