PORTSMOUTH — Two local moms with a shared vision to rebuild the Turnpike Avenue playground received permission from the Town Council Monday night to start fund-raising so their dreams become a reality.

The council voted unanimously to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a nonprofit, the Four Hearts Foundation, established by Kateri Chappell Buerman and Laurel Handle Polselli of Portsmouth.

Their goal is to “rebuild The Portsmouth Turnpike playground to be bigger, safer, and all-inclusive of ages and abilities. Our hope is to provide a fun and safe place for children of our community to play, learn and grow.”

Judging by the renderings of the proposed playground by O’Brien & Sons, the designer, it would be a big step up from what’s there currently. The new playground would include zip-lines, handicapped-accessible structures for ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12, swings, ramps, soft flooring to replace mulch, musical and play components throughout, seating and picnic tables and more.

The women listed several reasons for why the current playground needs significant improvements. 

“A lot of the areas are not ideal for safety,” Polselli said. Children are even known to eat the mulch that covers the ground there, she said, noting that the new playground would use soft flooring. 

There is also a hole at the top near the rock wall, the area is not fully fenced in, and it doesn’t accommodate children with disabilities or multi-age play, the women said. 

The new playground would have something for every age and ability, they pointed out. “We want to have areas for younger kids, older kids, and safe for everyone while they’re having fun,” Polselli said.

There would also be benches and picnic tables for families and friends. “Right now people who visit the playground can’t really hang out and enjoy it,” said Polselli, adding the changes would “make it a real community place.”

Added Buerman: “People are leaving the town to go to better playgrounds.” That means they’re also spending money at businesses in other communities, rather than in Portsmouth, she said.

How much?

Buerman said it would cost anywhere from $400,000 to $500,000 to build the playground. For reference, the Island Park playground cost about $168,000, she said. The nonprofit would seek local and federal grants, private donations, corporate sponsors, bench and brick sponsors, and hold fund-raisers at various businesses, schools, and others locations, she said.

Council member Daniela Abbott said the proposed playground’s design is “amazing,” but she’s concerned about parking and vehicular access to the area from Turnpike. “That’s a very busy road, and we do not have enough parking to handle that,” she said, adding the town should reach out to the R.I. Department of Transportation to see what can be done to make that area of Turnpike Avenue safer.

Another council member, Len Katzman, said the council would also need to know what the annual maintenance costs would be, since the town would be inheriting the playground.

Under the MOU, Four Hearts Foundation will research grant opportunities and develop fund-raising strategies, so there would be no cost to the town for the actual construction of the playground. 

If and when sufficient funds are raised by Four Hearts, under the MOU the town would accept the donation of those funds to undertake a project that is agreed upon by both parties. The town would be responsible for the procurement of the construction services and materials, and the maintenance and repair of the playground would be the town’s responsibility. 

The MOU is good for five years.