Children ran, jumped and toddled at the Tiger Jungle Club Playground in St. James, dashing in and out of view as a group of concerned mothers looked on. Just beyond the playground, a city landscaper on a riding lawnmower circled the play equipment as it chewed up tall grass and spat out clippings.

“That’s why we need a fence,” said Chelsey Saxbury. “If everybody could just take two minutes and come stand here, you could realize why.”

Last month, Saxbury, her sister Ashley Steen, and their friend Christa Miller, raised $6,150 from local businesses and residents to install a fence around the playground. The four-foot-tall black chainlink fence will be erected on the concrete curb that currently surrounds the playground and will be finished by Aug. 25, according to Saxbury.

The playground, which was designed as an all-inclusive playspace for children with physical and mental disabilities, opened in July, 2024. It replaced an existing 50-year-old-park. Fundraising for the playground was spearheaded by the locally-run Kaylor Katherine Foundation. According to Parks and Recreation Director Kristy Rich, the playground cost around $350,000. While construction on the playground equipment itself was completed, the Kaylor Katherine Foundation couldn’t find funding for the final phase of the Tiger Jungle Club–a fence.

“We have a couple of safety-related items to take care of,” said an official from the Kaylor Katherine Foundation in a June 11 Facebook post, as the playground neared completion. “We need some sponsors for a fence. The ‘inclusive’ aspect is to keep children safe and give parents a little peace of mind as children, especially those on the spectrum, have elopement tendencies.”

However, funding for the fence never materialized, until last month. 

Saxbury, Miller, and Steen have been bringing their young children to the park since it opened two years ago. For them, the safety of their children at the park was always an issue during playdates.

“Containment is the biggest thing with any kids,” Steen said.

Saxbury added that many groups use the play area.

“People here in this community do have children with learning disabilities, and the concern is the child running. You can’t see all sides (of the playground).”

Among safety concerns that could be mitigated by a fence, the group cited difficulty keeping a line of sight on children and vehicle traffic from the nearby parking lot. They added that geese from the neighboring pond sometimes make excursions into the playground, leaving behind feces.

According to Saxbury, Steen and Miller, they approached the St. James Parks and Recreation Department earlier this year to ask if there was money in the improvement budget for a fence.

According to Rich, the money simply wasn’t there. “Our park budget is super tight, and I told them if they wanted to raise the money to put (the fence) in, that would be great,” Rich said. “I’m always very grateful when I have individuals that want to help beautify and improve the parks, but unfortunately, I don’t have an open checkbook to be able to do everything.”

Saxbury, Steen, and Miller did just that. First, they secured a bid for the project from Vienna, Missouri-based Central Fencing, who themselves donated $2,000 off the cost of the fence project. After securing a bid, the group reached out to St. James residents and businesses to raise funds for the project.

“We just reached out to local businesses who we knew would donate,” said Steen. “Local businesses are always willing to help.”

Three weeks later, the group was just $1650 short of their fundraising goal. A last minute donation of that amount from the St. James Sports Club bridged the gap.

Saxbury, Steen and Miller agreed that they would like to see more funds from the city budgeted towards improvements in city parks.

“There should really be more money in the budget for improvement. It was on us,” Saxbury said.

According to the St. James’ budget for fiscal year 2025-26, about $24,000 was earmarked for capital improvement projects at city parks. In May, the Tiger Shark Water Park was struck by lightning, leading to an estimated cost of repairs between $45,000 and $60,000. Although the pools were insured, the lightning strike may have impacted the park’s improvement budget.

For St. James City’s part, the city waived fees and permit costs for the project. Rich was supportive of the fence project, and said “a lot of parents will feel a little better in case their kid got away from them, they’d be right there at the playground still.”

Rich said she would like to see improvements made to other areas of the St. James parks system.

“The park system is super old. We have playground equipment on the south side that we’re hoping to get replaced soon,” Rich said. “Not that it’s unsafe, but there are head entrapments and pinch points, different things that insurance companies look for. We’re just trying to provide a safe place for families and kids to go play.”

Saxbury, Steen, and Miller said that “the ability for it to be available for moms to come with multiple children,” and play safely, is its own reward.

“You know, it’s very rewarding to be able to say we’re gonna do something and get done,” Saxbury said.