Elected officials, community members and city staff cheered as they cut a ribbon to celebrate the new playground at Bayview Park near downtown Homer. People mingled, while families took their kids down a newly paved path to check out the playground.
Community Development Director Julie Engebretsen said about $200,000 of state, city and private funds went into adding new equipment and making the park more accessible.
“We paved the ADA parking space. The drainage is actually working, which for anybody whose kid has run through the mud puddle here, I'll be curious to see if we have a mud puddle in the spring, but it's a lot better,” she said.
She said the park had its playground equipment taken out in 2021 after it was deemed unsafe before rebuilding began earlier this year.
“We had a nice lawn for a couple years, which is not super exciting for the little toddlers that come to use the park,” Engebretsen said.
Some new additions to the space include a mini excavator people can play with while seated or standing. There’s also a bright orange tunnel with handholds all over it.
Homer resident Katelin Kuklis brought her children to the new playground. She’s excited about having a safe space for them to play, especially with the new digger.
“He loves excavators, and that's like your own little excavator, you know,” Kuklis said, “and that tunnel is so cool with the rock climbing, like, that's just gonna be great for them to practice on.”
There’s still some work left to do for the park. Engebretsen said the city will look into adding new benches and a picnic table soon.
