Wrentham Announces Opening of Jane D’Amico Playground

Jane D’Amico, at the dedication ceremony for the playground named in her honor held on Saturday, Oct. 31. (Photo courtesy Town of Wrentham)
The Jane D’Amico Playground at the William A. Rice
Recreation Complex is officially
open.
A dedication ceremony for
the playground was held on Saturday, Oct 31. The playground is
named after Jane D’Amico, who
spent 20 years as a member of
the Recreation Commission and
served as a fundraising coordinator for the Rice Complex.
“Jane is one of the original advocates for a public playground
in the town of Wrentham 20
years ago,” Recreation Director
Jeff Plympton said. “She has also
been very active on other committees in town, such as the Open
Space Committee and Community Preservation Committee.
She’s the type of volunteer that
every town should have.”
The D’Amico Playground
project was funded by $445,315
in Community Preservation Act
funds that were approved at town
meeting last year.
The Rice Complex, located
at 54 Emerald St., has grown in
popularity to become a premier
recreation site in town for youth
sports and local residents with approximately 20,000-plus visitors
annually. With careful effort and
dedication to a strong vision, the
complex has continued to mature
with the addition of a concession stand and a sand volleyball
court. The Wrentham Recreation Commission furthered this
vision with the addition of the
playground on the site.
With the completion of the
D’Amico Playground, the Rice
Complex now has a high-quality
facility that meets today’s standards for healthy play and accessibility for all youth.
The Recreation Commission
secured a $100,000 in-kind donation from the maker and installer
of the playground equipment,
Kompan, reducing the overall
cost of the project. The playground is an engaging complex
that allows age-appropriate play
in easy view of watchful parents.
It is designed for ages 2-12-plus,
and is located near the concession stand and the soccer fields at
the complex. Kompan engineers
and builds playground equipment to last 20 years.
“I want to thank the Community Preservation Committee
for their support of this project
and the Wrentham Recreation
Commission for all the work they
did to make it a reality,” Town
Administrator Kevin Sweet said.
“The playground is a terrific
addition to the Rice Complex,
which not only offers recreation
opportunities for youths in town
but also serves to preserve 80
acres of Wrentham land as open
space for residents to enjoy for
years to come.”