You Paid for $36K Playground, Can't Use It

A shiny new playground on La Matanza Street cost taxpayers $36,099.47 and was recently installed on city-owned land—but is not open to the public.

It opened to the 50 children enrolled at the city-run Kindergarten Readiness Program on Jan. 31. A bright green chain-link fence keeps visitors out.

City officials said the fact that it's not open to the public "is still under discussion" with the Parks, Recreation and Senior Services Commission, which meets Monday night. However, there is no reference to the playground on the night's agenda.

"The goal of the project was to, as expeditiously as possible, get a playground for the preschool program (which had been operating since September without a playground), with the option of opening it to the public to be discussed at a later time," said Cathy Salcedo, San Juan Capistrano's executive services director.

At least one Mission Flats resident believes this is unfair.

"If it was a private entity that owned this, I'd have no problem with the fact that we couldn't play there," said mom Jennifer Pointer. "But it's on city-owned property and was paid for with city money."

According to Salcedo, the structure was paid for out of the city's capital-improvement program.

"When the children are not using it for school, someone else should be able to use the playground. Why should it sit there idle for 23 hours a day?" Pointer asked.

At a parks and recreation commission meeting in November, commissioners expressed the same concerns as Pointer's.

"I have a problem with the way we're financing it," said Commissioner Kenneth Harts. "It's absolutely wrong to take the money out of the parks and leisure budget and then close it to the public."