Painter Park Playground Reopening Event Set for Oct. 15 in West Haven

Written by Michael P. Walsh

WEST HAVEN, CT — Mayor Edward M. O’Brien and other city officials will hold a public dedication and reopening of the Painter Park playground on Kelsey Avenue at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 15.

O’Brien will dedicate the newly refurbished wooden playground in honor of Kelsey Avenue resident and former city schoolteacher Maureen Blake, who was instrumental in leading a grassroots effort to bring a playground to the neighborhood more than two decades ago.

O’Brien will also offer his appreciation to Lowe’s for its charitable contributions to the playground’s rehabilitation.

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“The renovation of our flagship playground would not have been possible without the invaluable and unwavering support of Lowe’s,” O’Brien said. “I want to thank the many volunteers for their labor of love in putting this playground back into optimal condition. I also want to thank Maureen Blake for her inspiring role in the construction of this playground 22 years ago.”

Employees from four Lowe’s stores — Derby, Milford, New Haven and Orange — recently restored the playground for their annual “Lowe’s Heroes” community service project. The stores donated about $10,000 worth of materials and dozens of volunteers, according to Lowe’s of Milford store manager John Cipriano.

The work, completed in five weeks and at no cost to city taxpayers, included replacing all swing set equipment and hardware, beams and boards and benches. It also included re-stabilizing the wooden retaining wall, adding picnic tables and fresh mulch and re-staining the playground.

Firefighters of the West Haven Fire Department also pitched in by power-washing the playground before it was stained by Lowe’s.

The castle-themed playground was erected over five days in May 1994 by a group of about 100 volunteers with a shared vision for building for West Haven’s future, said city recreation program coordinator Tom Conroy, who organized the renovation project.

In addition to O’Brien and Blake, the dedication will include Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman David Coyle and Commissioners Richard Beirne, Wayne Valaitis, Todd Tompkins and Gary Donovan. It will also include Human Resources Commissioner Beth A. Sabo, who supervises the Department of Parks and Recreation, and Park-Rec Director Bill Slater, as well as Lowe’s representatives.

The ceremony will also mark the public reopening of the playground, which had fallen into disrepair and was ordered closed in April by the city’s insurance carrier due to safety concerns.

Two months later, Park-Rec received an estimate of $150,000 to $180,000 to rehabilitate the popular playground.

Thankfully, over the summer, Cipriano answered the call for help and contacted O’Brien through Marilyn Wilkes, chairwoman of the city’s Beautification Committee, about taking on the playground restoration for Lowe’s community outreach project. The company previously helped Wilkes with her Community Garden project behind the former Molloy Elementary School.

Cipriano, who was assisted by Lowe’s of Derby store manager Peter Ouellette, then mobilized a four-store team for the ambitious undertaking.

O’Brien said the city is grateful for the stores’ devotion to the children of West Haven.

“The members of Lowe’s displayed the qualities of a true community, with everyone working together toward a common goal,” O’Brien said.

Lowe’s, headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, has been “improving home improvement” for more than 60 years.

Pictured: Volunteers from four Lowe’s stores — Derby, Milford, New Haven and Orange — sand railings at the Painter Park wooden playground Sept. 6. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh, File)