Eversource Helps East Hampton Rebuild Seamster Park Playground

EAST HAMPTON, CT — Eversource is contributing $2,500 and is joining the effort to rebuild the Seamster Park Playground in East Hampton, the utility company announced this week.

The park was built by the community nearly 24 years ago, but wear and tear has taken a toll on the equipment, and it has been deemed unsafe by the town’s insurance company.

"There are issues with sight and supervision- you can’t see your child playing from one side of the playground to the other," said Jeremy Hall, the Director of Parks and Recreation for East Hampton, in a statement. "It was built to code then, but now it’s not ADA accessible. There are some equipment issues and the wood is splintering."

Eversource's contribution is in support of the town’s plans to tear down and "rebuild a brand new, state-of-the-art playground that is 1,000-square-feet larger, and has all the bells and whistles for children and families to enjoy," according to the company.

Fundraising events and plans are in place to help pay for the $250,000 park, including a GoFundMe page. If the town doesn’t raise enough money to cover the cost, they will remove a few items from the playground to lower the final cost.

The new and improved Seamster Park will add between 40 and 50 new structures for children to play on including a zip line, ropes course, tire swing, pirate ship, monkey bars, a rope bridge, rock wall, and more. Plans also call for the park to be sectioned off with activities geared towards school-aged children and another area for younger children.

"The Seamster Park Playground will once again be a great place for kids to come and play for years to come," said Rod Powell the President of Corporate Citizenship for Eversource, in a statement. "We're committed to making a difference in the communities we serve and supporting initiatives like East Hampton’s new playground is a great way to give back to our customers and neighbors."

Similar to how Seamster Park was built 24 years ago, Hall said the community will be invited to help build the park from the ground up when the time comes. If fundraising goes as planned the hope is to start construction in April 2018.

Photo credit: Eversource