Correction: This story contained an error when it was first published. Resident Robert Goldberg was the first person to question the City Council on the inadequacy of two swings in the playground on the beach. We regret the error.
The reconstruction of the Tot Lot playground next to the Seal Beach Pier is scheduled to be done by Sept. 30, according to Cesar Rangel, the Tot Lot project manager.
The rebuilt Tot Lot will include a jungle gym, four swings and two shaded areas, according to District One Councilwoman Ellery Deaton. She said the city had to wait until the summer season was over before work could be done on the lot.
Rangel said the tiles are being protected in place as part of the contract with the company that is doing the remodel.
The playground had needed repair for some time. Rangel said the city had to rehabilitate the whole playground.
Rangel said city staff never found out when the Tot Lot was originally built.
He said staff found no trace of anything showing the original work.
A sign at the entrance indicates the tiles for the Seal Beach Juniors Tot Lot were installed in the early 1990s.
“I do know it reached the end of its useful life a long time ago,” said District One Councilwoman Ellery Deaton.
Deaton said she wanted to be sure children in Old Town had a place to go.
She said the Tot Lot was important to Old Town residents because there aren’t a lot of playgrounds in the area. The City Council approved the project in May with a projected cost of slightly less than a quarter of a million dollars. Part of that money is for unexpected costs.
Deaton offered her $20,000 discretionary funds to offset part of the cost. The city hired R.E. Schultz Construction to rebuild the lot for roughly $174,000.
The council approved the project in May.
Staff had originally planned two swings for the lot, but District Three Councilman Mike Varipapa, Councilman Gary Miller and resident Alayna Anderson raised concerns about having only two swings in the park, so there will be four.
