PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, JUNE 19, 2015
BIG
TOY,
continued from Page A1
A smaller group of
volunteers returned Monday.
By the end of the day Caillier,
the
project
coordinator,
announced more wood fiber
chips needed to be ordered
and likely wouldn’t come in
until at least Thursday, June
18. That left the opening
date somewhat in flux, as the
playground can’t be opened
until the wood chips and the
other 23 items on the final
punch list are done.
“We can’t open until we
get more wood chips,” Caillier
said Monday afternoon. “We
used less rock than expected,
so we ended up using more
wood fiber chips than
expected because we didn’t
meet the height requirement.
We are short of materials. It
takes three days to get more
material, so we probably won’t
see it until Thursday.”
Late Tuesday afternoon,
Caillier had another update.
“We will have the wood
fiber
Friday
afternoon,”
Caillier said. “We will open the
playground at 9 a.m. Saturday.”
In the months leading up
to the build, having enough
volunteers had been a concern.
Project leaders were hoping
for 150 volunteers per shift,
with three shifts per day. Ron
and Kim Freeman headed up
the effort to sign up volunteers,
but the reassurance from
officials at project consultant
Leathers and Associates was a
majority of volunteers usually
walked in without signing up
prior.
In Keizer’s case volunteers
did indeed walk up, but not
enough. A lack of bodies put
the project behind early.
“We were short on
volunteers,” Caillier
said
on Thursday evening. “We
wanted 150 per shift and were
50 percent off. Right now we
could use all the help we can
get.”
Kim Freeman noted there
were some big groups that
came. Boys and Girls Club
came Thursday with 70 people,
while Lakepoint Community
Church
and
Dayspring
Fellowship Church both had
big groups Friday evening.
Some city employees took
vacation days to be at the site
every day, while others were
paid by the city for working
there.
Throughout
the
five
scheduled days of the build,
Shelly Paddock provided
daycare and Carolyn Ream
worked with youth such as
Anthony Divine.
“It’s something to do other
than being home,” Divine said.
By Friday, the playground
was taking shape, though the
project was still behind due to
a shortage of volunteers.
“We’re still behind, but
we’re making up ground,”
Caillier said Friday evening.
Caillier
noted
Doug
Hanauer, the lead consultant
on hand from Leathers, was
constantly on the phone with
co-workers about making
changes on the fly. Other
issues included a tube on the
treehouse structure being too
long – it had to be cut to fit
– and the level of gravel not
being high enough. Plus there
were users not familiar with
some of the tools.
“We’ve broken more than
100 drill bits so far,” Caillier
said.
Two construction captains,
Steve Ray and David Louden,
were injured during the build.
By late Sunday afternoon,
it became apparent the 5 p.m.
goal would not be met.
“We had half as many
volunteers as we expected, but
they worked twice as hard as
expected,” said Caillier, who
noted work continued until
about 10 p.m. both Friday and
Saturday in an effort to make
up time.
Before he left Monday,
Hanauer
expressed
his
appreciation for the work
volunteers did, though he
joked about Caillier’s math.
“The volunteers we had
here were phenomenal,”
Hanauer said. “They were
good workers, easy and
friendly to work with. They
did more than average. But
they didn’t do twice as much,
because we were four or five
hours away (from opening
Sunday). We didn’t miss it by
much. There are just so many
variables on a project like this.”
Though some parts are
common to different projects,
Hanauer noted no two
Leathers playgrounds are
identical.
“Each one is totally different,
though some components are
the same,” said Hanauer, who
has supervised more than 200
builds in 23 years. “There are
a lot of swings on this one.
The kids in Keizer wanted a
volcano and a castle. Probably
the volcano is the most unique
part of this one.”
In addition to a structure
sponsored by the Salem-Keizer
Volcanoes, the Keizer Big Toy
also has references to McNary
High School, a steamboat
with a paddle wheel, a beaver
bar and a fire truck mister
sponsored by Marion County
Fire District No. 1. Another
unique feature is the Wallace
House structure.
“Kids want something
from their own environment,”
Hanauer said. “Cookie cutter
companies can’t have it reflect
the community like we can. It
looks pretty darn good.”
Brad and Meredith Coy
worked on the Big Toy while
their four children were with
Paddock.
“We weren’t really building
a play structure, we were
really building a community,”
Brad Coy said. “That we were
highly successful at.”
Meredith Coy predicted
regular trips to the park this
summer.
“We are super excited,” she
said. “I’m sure we will be here
every day. They feel this is their
playground.”
Clark and every councilor
talked about the project near
the end of Monday’s Keizer
City Council meeting, with
several getting emotional.
“One thing I want to say
is we did it,” said Parsons,
who chaired the Community
Build Task Force. “This has
been a roller coaster for two
years. To come to what we’ve
accomplished is a great thing.”
Clark choked up as she
echoed those thoughts.
“You go out there now, it’s
the most amazing playground
I’ve ever seen,” the mayor said.
“We did it. I’m so moved by
what we did as a community. It
will be there for so many years
for people to enjoy. We all own
a piece of that. We can look at
that with so much pride.”
By late Tuesday afternoon,
Caillier said those still working
on the project were getting
through the punch list “pretty
quick.” Final coats of paint
and sealer had to be applied, a
steering wheel was needed for
the Ford F100 and some sharp
edges had to be smoothed.
“I believe we’ll be ready
to open on Saturday,” Caillier
said.
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Top: Bill Lawyer and members of the Marion County Fire District No. 1 look over a tube on Friday
morning that caused headaches before being trimmed to fit.
Above: Volunteers work on the volcano slide and other parts of the Big Toy project on Sunday
afternoon.