The idea came out of left field.
Bailey Island resident Mary Coombs was thinking about how the siblings of children playing in games at Trufant-Summerton Athletic Field, at 648 Harpswell Islands Road on Great Island, often have nothing to keep them occupied except for some nearby ledges and stairs.
It’s not the safest play area for youngsters, including Coombs’ two young nieces, Liberty and Leona Moore.
But what if she got a group together to raise money for a playground at the town-owned site? They would be doing the community a favor, as there is no other playground in the area outside of Harpswell Community School.
“Kids need a place to play,” Coombs said in a recent interview. “Who doesn’t love a good swing and a slide?”
She assembled a team that includes her mother, Janet Coombs, sister Melody Moore, and family friends Melinda Richter, Jennifer Bisson and Margaret McIntire. They spoke to Gina Caldwell, Harpswell’s recreation director and community services coordinator, who liked the idea and agreed to help them.
The group received an equally positive response from the Harpswell Select Board, which directed them to meet with the town’s Recreation Committee to work out the details.
“Personally, (I think) this is a great thing,” Select Board member Jane Covey told Coombs at the board’s Oct. 24 meeting. “We’re very much supportive of this and … ready and able to work with you.”
Caldwell suggested siting the playground in an undeveloped area of the ballfield property just beyond the left field fence. The group agreed it would be the safest spot for a playground — away from parking and other facilities — and would only require minor changes to the ballfield to create access.
Aside from the location, most of the project’s details have yet to be determined and will require further coordination among the fundraisers, town officials and a playground contractor.
The group has already chosen a contractor: Maine Recreation & Design, of Brunswick, which constructed playgrounds at the Community School and the former Harpswell Coastal Academy.
A typical playground can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the size. Coombs said the group could save money by using some town-owned equipment that was never installed. The rest would be paid for through fundraising, she said.
Town Administrator Kristi Eiane said the group is free to begin raising money, but the town won’t be able to accept those funds until residents give the OK. The town plans to ask for that approval at the next Town Meeting in March.
“It’s similar to the bandstand (at George J. Mitchell Field),” Eiane said at the Select Board meeting. “We had a specific vote on that — maybe two.”
Richter, who owns Island Candy Co. on Orr’s Island, said she joined Coombs on the playground project with her grandkids in mind.
“Every Friday I take my grandchildren out, and we go to find a playground,” she said. “And it seems like the best playgrounds are at schools, so I just wanted a fun playground — innovative, handicapped-accessible — that we could get to quickly.”
Coombs said the group would return to the Select Board in the coming weeks after meeting with the Recreation Committee to work out the project’s details.
In the meantime, anyone who wishes to donate to the project can contact her at 207-417-5102 or mhcoombs1971@gmail.com.
