Park for smaller kids at Ballast Point is mother's mission

BALLAST POINT — Three-year-old Rylan Guice loves to go to Ballast Point Park. He fills his pockets with pebbles and plays chase with his best friend Mason. They hide under playground equipment.

But that equipment is rated for ages 5 to 12, so climbing it requires close supervision from Mom. A notice at the entrance warns that a fall from the top to a hard surface can result in death. It's a drop of about 10 feet. Fireman poles and metal ladders made for bigger, more agile kids pose problems. Especially for tots who know no fear. Parents say they have seen some kids fall.

"You have to go up with them — there's no other way to keep them safe," said Katie Guice, who moved to Ballast Point in 2003.

Guice, 33, realized the dangers when Rylan started walking.

She became a mom on a mission.

At a neighborhood association meeting two years ago, Guice listened to discussions about improvements at the park at 5300 Interbay Blvd. The city would install new shelters and improve stormwater drainage.

But plans showed no equipment for tots.

After the meeting, Guice approached Laurie Potier-Brown, parks department landscape architect and planner, with the idea of a playground for the smallest of parkgoers. Potier-Brown liked the vision. The city would chip in $5,000, she said.

The equipment would cost thousands more, Guice learned after some research. But the $5,000 was a start.

Guice, an audit manager for TECO Energy, would have to raise the rest. She had never raised money for the community and was already busy with Rylan, who has since been joined by his sister, 7-month-old Olive.

"But I figured e-mails had to come from one person so that person became me," she said. She credits a team effort from the neighborhood with bringing it all together.

Soon, they secured a Hillsborough County neighborhood mini grant of $1,500.

Then in August 2008, they held an Italian dinner at Cellini's in South Tampa, which donated a portion of the profits.

In November, they held a spa night. In October, an art, wine and cheese night and a Halloween party.

All told, Guice and her neighbors raised $22,832.

The city decided to up its contribution by actually matching the amount neighbors raised. The parks department bought the new equipment several months ago and plans to install it in the spring, said Potier-Brown.

All told, the equipment and installation will cost $47,000. Soon tots can climb two rock structures, soar in bucket swings and slide down rollers much like a conveyer belt — all in a separate play area designed for them.

"We're thrilled," Guice said. She can't wait for Rylan and Olive to try it out.

Other upgrades coming to the park include an expanded picnic area, new benches and more parking spaces, Potier-Brown said. Some shelters will be moved and stormwater retention will be improved.

Shade structures to cover the playgrounds are also part of the upgrades. A pier restoration was recently completed.

The park is one of Tampa's oldest. It became a destination in the 1890s, after wealthy Emelia Chapin had a line from Tampa's streetcar system extend to her winter estate in Ballast Point so she could ride her private trolley car, which she called "Fair Florida." Her property was near the park, so people used the trolley to go to the park as well.

Chapin had a pavilion installed in the park and named it Jules Verne Park, because she was a fan of the French writer.

The pier came in the 1920s, originally built as a loading dock for ships carrying ballast. Recently renovated, it's a favorite with anglers.

Later, the park's draw was a huge banyan tree perfect for climbing before it froze one winter, remembers Sally Flynn, president of the Ballast Point Neighborhood Association.

At some point, the park was renamed Ballast Point.

Flynn now brings her grandchildren here. It can be scary trying to keep an eye on more than one child, she said. It's a busy park and there are many small children in the neighborhood.

"I'm so impressed that (Guice) raised the money so quickly," Flynn said.

Elisabeth Parker can be reached at eparker@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3431.