HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - November 6, 2002 D-03cAGENDA TITLE: Presentation of National Playground Safety Institute Certified Employee
MEETING DATE: November 6, 2002
PREPARED BY: Parks and Recreation Director
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Presentation of National Playground Safety Institute Certified Employee,
Lary Moore.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: America's youth have long enjoyed the benefits of public
playgrounds. The challenges found on a playground are a great
asset for the physical, emotional, social and intellectual
development of the children at play. Many of today's adults
remember hours of fun and adventure spent on the playgrounds of their childhood. But, all too often,
these memories are mixed with pain. Kids play hard and that means they are going to occasionally skin
an elbow or bruise a shin.
Statistics have shown a dramatic increase in playground -related injuries. It is estimated that every 2 Y2
minutes a child is treated in an emergency room for such injuries, this does not include those injuries
that do not make it to the emergency room. Nearly 70% of all injuries occur on public playground, most
contributing factor being falls to the surface. Thirty-four percent are related to maintenance. We as a
Government Agency have mandatory duties set forth in the Health and Safety Code Article 2 requiring
us to comply with sections of the Handbook for Public Playground Safety, Publication Number 325, of
the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and sections of the Standard Consumer Safety
Performance Specifications for Playground Equipment for Public Use.
Article 2, section 65715 requires playground operators to perform an initial inspection of their
playgrounds by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector. To become a Certified Playground Safety
Inspector, one must attend fifteen hours of training from nationally known playground safety experts
and do advanced reading. The examination is the principal requirement for continuation of certification
as a Certified Playground Safety Inspector. It is designed to assess the core knowledge of current
playground standards and guidelines and is administered under the auspices of the National
Recreation and Parks Association and the National Playground Safety Institute.
It is my privilege to announce that the City of Lodi Parks Division now has two Certified Playground
Safety Inspectors on staff. On August 24, 2002, Larry Moore our division's Welder/Mechanic
successfully met the requirements set forth by the National Playground Safety Institute. This winter
Larry will be performing equipment audits on all of the cities playgrounds.
APPROVED:
Dixon Fly n -- CityNfanager
10/23/02
CITY OF LODI COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
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FUNDING: None
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Roger BaI.
Parks and Recreation Director
Prepared by Steve Dutra, Parks Superintendent
RB/SD/1b
cc: City Attorney
APPROVED:
H. Dixon Flynn -- City Manager
10/23102
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