Photo by Erin Nelson.
Mayor Tony Picklesimer, center left, and Jeff Jones, the director of the Chelsea Community Center, center right, cut a ribbon during the ceremony for the new playground at Melrose Park at the Chelsea Community Center on Nov. 2.
The city of Chelsea is home to a new playground.
Located behind the Chelsea Community Center, the playground at Melrose Park had its official opening with a ribbon-cutting Nov. 2.
This is the first of three construction projects in the area. The splash pad is also under construction and should be open May 1, followed by an amphitheater.
All three sites will have Melrose Park in the name. Melrose was the original name of Chelsea when the city was home to a train station.
“The railroad that runs in front of City Hall is not very far from the park, so that’s why we chose it,” Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer said.
The playground has been in the original plan for that park since the property was purchased. Picklesimer said he didn’t have an idea the city would be able to build anything so elaborate, but after receiving money from the project from the Shelby County Commission, the three-story structure was purchased.
Picklesimer said this is a great example of what can happen when there is a partnership between the municipality and the county it’s in.
“There’s simply no way we could do anything this size without the cooperation from the Shelby County Commission, and on behalf of the whole city of Chelsea, thank you so much to Chad Scroggins for the county’s contribution to this,” he said.
“I looked at that as being a generational decision, something that would be around for along time. Because we had the money with help from Shelby County, I didn’t want to skimp on it,” Picklesimer said.
Construction on the project began in the fourth quarter of 2019 and continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
City Engineer Keith Hager said there was a committee that went to several parks in the area and didn’t find what it wanted. He believes the new playground would rival anything in Shelby County.
“I reached out [to the building company] and had some pieces made for our park that were a little different and tried to incorporate all ages of children and all-inclusive areas of the playground,” Hager said. “There are different sections for different ages of children.”
Picklesimer said nobody is more responsible for how the playground turned out than Hager, adding his vision is truly incredible.
“It makes me want to be 6 years old again,” Picklesimer said.
Built by Playcraft Systems, the structure is three stories high and has seven towers all interconnected, featuring swings, slides, climbing walls, rope sections, monkey bars and more. It can accommodate ages 3 to adolescent age and is also all-inclusive for those with special needs.
Covering the ground in the playground area is rubberized safety flooring, a safety foam-type flooring that is safe and weather resistant.
Once the playground area was complete, the construction zone by the splash pad had to be fenced to make it safe for people to have access to the area. Hager said the Chelsea City Council wanted to allow the temporary use of the playground while the other portions of the project were completed.
A separate building is under construction that will house restrooms and also double as a 100-person tornado shelter that should be finished in the spring.
The mayor also thanked the Park and Recreation staff and community center staff, citing what a terrific job they do.
“None of these things happen without a team putting it all together... and these folks do it all,” he said. “We have such a terrific staff and team in our city, and I’m proud of each and everyone of them.”
Picklesimer added that Chelsea is all about family, and the city wanted to create a place for families to come and enjoy and spend time together.
“It’s really good to live in the city of Chelsea,” he said. “We welcome people from all over to come and enjoy this playground with their kids.”
