Child’s Play : Historic Ojai Park to Add Spiral Slides, New Swings and a Crow’s Nest

As Talia Savren prepared to slide down the only metal playground slide at Ojai’s Libbey Park, she remained on the lookout for other children playing on the small jungle gym set.

The 9-year-old Ventura resident, often in Ojai while her mother shops at nearby stores, has inadvertently toppled smaller children while jockeying for space on the crowded playground.

“I get sick of playing on the same thing over and over,” said Talia, who was trying to catch her breath after an hour of fun. “They need a taller slide and more of a jungle gym, especially for the older kids.”

Now, with help from the Ojai City Council, the playground space will be more than doubled and will have newer equipment.

The council this week unanimously but reluctantly approved improvements to the play area as part of its $4-million master plan for renovations to the historic 20-acre park. The playground upgrade will include a new decomposed granite sidewalk and additional lighting.

“It’s boring,” 7-year-old Ojai resident Troy Brinkerhoff said of the old playground, which has only two swing sets, monkey bars and a slide. “I’m glad they’re going to put in a new jungle gym.”

The master plan, approved by the council in fall, 1992, also includes enlarging the park’s gazebo and building a swimming complex, a demonstration composting garden behind City Hall, and walkways throughout the park.

Construction of the swimming complex has not started, but the composting garden is scheduled to open in a few weeks, city officials said. The City Council is also considering plans to either preserve the old city jail or remove it from the park.

Council members Joe DeVito, James Loebl and Nina Shelley approved the playground plan after making some minor changes in a sketch presented by city staff. Mayor Steve Olsen and Councilman Robert McKinney did not attend the meeting.

The playground, being expanded from 1,200 square feet to nearly 5,200 square feet, is at the front of the park, near the water fountain entrance. The expansion is expected to cost about $55,000 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of September, before Ojai Day Oct. 9.

Funds for the playground expansion became available because of an unusual financial swap between Ojai and Fillmore.

On July 27, the Fillmore City Council approved giving the city of Ojai $78,024 in unrestricted funds in exchange for Ojai’s $104,233 in Community Development Block Grant funds. The Ojai City Council voted for the exchange Tuesday.

Ojai had planned to use its federal block grant funds to expand the park. But it was not allowed to use the funds for the project because only 48.5% of the city’s residents are classified as having a low to moderate income level. At least 51% of the population must have low to moderate incomes to qualify for the grant.

“It’ll be a thrill to see 100 kids play on the new equipment,” said Dan Singer, Ojai administrative assistant and coordinator for the playground project. “I think this is going to be a real attribute to our downtown area.”

The new playground, being built on sand, will include plastic spiral slides, several swing sets, tube slides, chin bars and a crow’s nest for lookout points.

The new equipment will be installed by Moore Recreation and Park Equipment Inc. of Thousand Oaks, and the equipment will be provided by Gametime of Ft. Payne, Ala.

Pasadena resident Alda Tracy, visiting Ojai this week with her husband and two children, said it’s nice to be able to bring children to a park where there is plenty of playground space and equipment.

“For the most part, playgrounds are way too small for the kids that are using them,” she said. “I think more playground space is great because that’s what younger kids are attracted to anyway.”

Councilman DeVito, who served on a subcommittee that reviewed the project, said he expects the playground to propel business in the city’s downtown area, which has been popular for tourists.

“There really isn’t a whole lot in the stores for the kids to do,” DeVito said. “It will definitely bring locals as well as visitors down to the park where parents can leave their kids.”