New equipment came from grant

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12-year-old playground in the heart of uptown’s Northside Park on 125th Street for the past more than two decades.

Susan Petito, the city’s director of recreation and parks, has said the old equipment needed to be replaced after years of heavy play and exposure to the salty ocean air.

The new equipment includes slides, bridges, climbers and interactive play panels designed to encourage social play and enhance fine motor skills.

Crews also removed a rock climbing wall and replaced it with two standalone play features, including a combination net spinner/climber — which Meehan and the parks staff tried out Tuesday — and a surfboard play element.

Parks Superintendent Gary Collier said the surfboard theme gives the playground a “beachy, ocean feel,” which is fitting in Ocean City.

The project is the first of a twophased effort to upgrade the whole playground. The second phase, replacement of an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramping system and play elements for 5-to-12year-olds that were added in 2005, is set for completion in fiscal 2025.

Collier said the cost of the recently finished portion of the project was just under $300,000, with the majority covered by a state grant. Collier and Petito said the competition for a chunk of the total $2.5 million pot is fierce among more than 130 municipalities across the state.

“The community parks and playground grant program isn’t anything that’s guaranteed,” Collier said.

State grants help pay for upgrades to all of the seven playgrounds across the resort, but with the tough competition, more money may have to come from local sources in the future.

Along with Northside Park, the city has playgrounds at North Surf Park off 142nd Street, Gorman Park off 136th Street, Little Salisbury Park off 94th Street, Robin Park on Robin Drive downtown, the Downtown Recreation Complex on Fourth Street, and on the Boardwalk at North Division Street. All of the playgrounds have equipment for 5-to-12year-olds, while Northside Park and the recreation complex also have equipment for 2-to-5-year-olds.

Grace Center collecting shoes

(May 19, 2023) The Grace Center for Maternal and Women’s Health in Berlin is offering the community a way to help the environment and support women in the community at the same time.

The Grace Center is sponsoring an athletic shoe fundraiser drive from now until the end of June.

The Grace Center will earn funds to support programs based on the total quantity of gently worn, used and new sneakers collected.

GotSneakers has developed the program, which encourages people to reach into their closets, not their pockets. The sneaker recycling program helps keep sneakers out of landfills, which has harmful effects on the environment, and helps charity organizations like the Grace Center earn money to sustain operations and programs available to local women.

Donations of used sneakers can be dropped off at the Grace Center for Maternal and Women’s Health at 10226 Old Ocean City Blvd., Unit 2, Berlin, Maryland 21811 - across from AGH.

Call 443-513-4124 for more information.