Planet Playground in Meridian to get extreme makeover

Published 8:00 pm Tuesday, February 20, 2018

If all goes to plan, work on Jeannie’s Place at Planet Playground in Meridian could begin this summer.

The playground, which has been closed for nearly two years, is the future site of a safer, wheelchair-accessible playground for the community.

Using a rubber surface for safety, the playground will feature industrial-grade plastic instead of the current playground equipment. It will also incorporate local community identifiers, such as Union Station and the Jimmie Rodgers train.

And the good news — phase one will only take about two weeks to complete, as the plastic pieces don’t require weeks — even months — of construction.

“Right now we continue to write grants and raise funds and work as a community to try to get the funding available to bring this project to fruition,” said City of Meridian Chief Administrative Officer Richie McAlister. “There’s a lot of moving parts. It’s a lot of paperwork involved, because we’re writing grants to our local foundations as well as our national foundations.”

McAlister said it will cost about $320,000 to complete phase one of the project.

On Tuesday night, the Meridian City Council approved submittal of a grant application from the Riley Foundation.

“Once it’s complete, you’re looking at minimal maintenance that only will require pressure washing a couple times a year,” McAlister said.

The new Planet Playground was designed by Play by Design. Most of Play by Design’s current staff, while working with another firm, took part in designing the current Planet Playground, which was built in 1999.

The inspiration for the project is 12-year-old Jeannie Null, the daughter of Julie and Jason Null, who contacted the city about redesigning the park for children with special needs. 

Jeannie Null has used a wheelchair since she was 5. She has undergone five surgeries, one of which caused paralysis on her right side.