Brewer opens playgrounds Monday, Bangor could follow soon

While playgrounds in cities like Bangor and Ellsworth remain closed to the public, that's not the case in Brewer.

TV5 was there Monday morning as they officially re-opened.

"The Brewer playgrounds are open," said Parks and Rec Director Mike Martin.

As the state continues it's re-opening during the pandemic, Monday marked a sign of progress in Brewer.

"This is a step forward," said Martin. "Again, we are Parks and Recreation we want people outside enjoying themselves. Playing in the parks and playing on the fields, so this is a good step forward.

Brewer crews will not be sanitizing the playgrounds.

"Right now we are going to just monitor playgrounds," Martin said. "They are not scheduled to be sanitized - so use at your own risk. We are not sanitizing them. We are going to monitor and just make sure that people are following the rules and keeping separation and so forth. Encourage social distancing while you are playing. Use hand sanitizer, wash your hands both before and after you play. Again keep social distance and get outside and enjoy."

Welcome news for Leah, Violette, Eddie, Charlotte and their mom's who were out enjoying them on Monday.

"When school first let out I think she thought it was some sort of consequence and we had huge meltdowns," said Brewer resident Lydia St. Louis. "It was a huge change. Everybody benefits from routine. Young children especially need it. It was completely thrown off and it was terrible for a while but we are looking up right now."

"Kids love running around and playing and just exercising," said Brewer resident Elissa Sawyer. "It's hard with them being inside and not be able to be free to be kids."

"It's a huge sigh of relief," said St. Louis. "Not having interaction and not having a lot of ways to play has not been great for development for kids. Especially my child who's almost 5. Being able to play with other kids, being able to have that physical exertion, doing monkey bars and all the stuff it's really necessary for proper motor skill development is huge. It's hard to really replicate a lot of that with all the things they took away from us."

Bangor's playgrounds remain closed, however the Parks and Rec Director says he will present a plan on re-opening to the city council Tuesday night.