STOCKTON, Calif. — A dilapidated structure of burnt plastics and charred metal poles behind a chain link fence is all that remains of a playground structure at Stockton's Williams Brotherhood Park after it was destroyed by vandals in the summer.
"Unfortunately, the park was deserted and not activated, the grass was brown," Kimberly Warmsley, who represents the city's sixth council district where the park is located, said. "As we were organizing the community, a vandalism occurred where the playground was burned."
According to the Stockton Police Department, the playground structure at the south Stockton park was set on fire and vandalized by unknown suspects on May 10, 2021. Since that day, the park has been fenced off by Public Works crews deemed as a hazard for children, but new donations are clearing the way for a new playground to be built.
"That really sparked some hurt and disappointment within the community, so I was encouraging people to remain grounded and stay focused," Warmsley said.
After seeing the vandalism, which totaled the structure, Warmsley and community members pressed on nonprofits for contributions, ultimately finding donors and making the vision of transforming the park a reality.
Stockton City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a new playground structure at the park. The new playground will cost the city $80,219.71. Local donors have been able to cover $50,000 of the cost.
Dignity Health's St. Joseph's Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente both donated $25,000 towards the construction of the new playground equipment, meaning the city will only have to tap $30,220 of funds from their Public Works budget to complete construction.
"There's so many different things that are flooding into the park in a good way to reactivate it and to give the park back to the people where it should be" Warmsley said.
While construction has been approved, groundbreaking will have to wait as the city's vendor is waiting on materials, impacted by state-wide supply chain issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jodi Almassy, the Director of the City's Public Works Department who spoke during Tuesday's meeting, says they are hoping to have the park complete in spring of 2022.
"Right now, we are struggling to get materials," Almassy said. "We specifically are working with this vendor to give them a try in hopes that its going to come sooner, that we will be able to install this, right now we are still looking at spring time."
Once the structure opens, Warmsley hopes her neighbors and constituents will be able to once again spend time playing and hosting events at the park, which covers several city blocks.
"Now you're seeing a park that is invested in and because of that, you are seeing community members who are in the parks now and are using it," Warmsley said. "When the project happens, I'm going to be personally stopping by with my own kids to try the playground out."
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