Poinciana Playground Now Open for Play

Commissioner Jean Reed, representing the Polk County Board of County Commissioners, joined Tony Iorio, Vice President – Development for Avatar Properties; Venita Saunders, Neighborhood Watch Coordinator; and Jeanette Coughenour, Manager of the Association of Poinciana Villages to officially open a brand new playground for the children of families who reside in Poinciana in northeast Polk.  Given today’s tight economy, the three enitities – BoCC, Avatar and APV formed a partnership and pooled resources to make the playground a reality.

The colorful dual-age modular playground features wave, cloverleaf and toadstool climbers plus a little foot and curved zip slides that are designed for the 2- to 5-year-old age group.  Photo at right shows Eric (top left) and Noah in a race down the new slide in their neighborhood.  Both are three-year olds.

Loop ladders, a spiral slide with hood, schooner and a tree climber are more geared for older youngsters 5 to 12 years of age; although kids gravitate naturally to equipment that offers the biggest challenge for their individual level of motor skills development.  Moms just want to know the equipment is safe and well-maintained.  The day-to-day upkeep of the playground will be the responsibility of the Association of Poinciana Villages as the third partner in providing the long awaited mini park.

Functioning as a walk-to park with limited street parking, the playground is located at the corner of Halibut Road and Mackerel Road in Village 7.  Construction began shortly after closing on the 1.6 acre parcel of land that was donated by Avatar Properties and accepted by the Board of County Commissioners on September 1.  Polk County invested approximately $90,000 for site preparation and purchase of the playground equipment, sidewalks, park seating and forthcoming vinyl coated chain link fencing around the perimeter.  The perpetual maintenance agreement with the Association of Poinciana Villages is expected to save the County approximately $9,000 annually.

Because Parks are Important 

Parks have always been important to Polk County, but parks and recreation needs cannot be met through public funding alone.  Help is needed to enhance, provide and maintain our public parks as assets that your family, friends and visitors can be proud of and enjoy.  The Friends of the Parks Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was established to promote and support public parks and recreation activities in Polk County and to promote gifts and donations from individuals and private industry. 

While the Foundation was not involved in the Poinciana Playground Project, we applaud the joint cooperation of the Board of County Commissioners, Avatar Properties, and the Association of Poinciana Villages in providing facilities in answer to the Foundation’s call to action  - Where Will We Play?