Photograph by George Sakkestad
The fences around Fair Oaks Park finally come down. A dedication ceremony is set for April 27.
By ANNE GELHAUS
After 14 months of planning and several construction delays, the new playground and picnic areas at Fair Oaks Park are finished.
Members of the San Miguel Neighborhood Association first met with Sunnyvale's Parks and Recreation Department in February 1995 to discuss upgrading the park's playground facility. Now, association members and department staff are set to dedicate the new swing sets and slides at an April 27 community barbecue.
"It's a great relief that it's finally done," said parks supervisor Scott Morton. "It turned out well, too."
The projct cost $150,000. The fence that surrounded the playground at 540 N. Fairoaks Ave. during the upgrade was scheduled to come down last Friday, and an adjacent picnic area opened several weeks earlier with new cement benches and tables.
The city originally budgeted $118,000 for the project and planned to move used playground equipment to the park from Columbia Middle School, which had been shut down. But Morton said that idea was nixed when the city discovered the move would cost just as much as buying new equipment.
With this discovery, the city moved its estimated completion date from June 1995 to January 1996, and construction delays pushed the grand opening back a few more months.
Despite the wait, Morton said he didn't hear any complaints from the neighborhood association.
"They were extremely helpful and very patient," he added. "I wish every neighborhood had a neighborhood group. They let you know their needs."
Association board president Mat Driscoll said his group made sure their needs were met in getting new playground equipment.
"We indicated to the city what we wanted, as opposed to what they offered," Driscoll added. "As it grows, we're looking for a new look to the park."
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 24, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.