SPRINGFIELD TWP.: The township might be on the cutting edge of a national trend to get baby boomers more active by conjuring nostalgic childhood memories of sun-filled summer days spent at their local parks.Playgrounds for older adults featuring low-impact exercise equipment are popular in England, Germany and China, but rare in the United States, said Bobby Dinkins, director of the Boyd Esler Senior and Community Center.Last month, the township was awarded a $33,500 Community Development Block Grant to build a playground for older adults on the scenic shores of Springfield Lake.“From the standpoint of a free-standing outdoor playground, we believe we are the first in Ohio and possibly one of the first in the United States,” Dinkins said.The grant was awarded to the township by the Summit County Department of Community and Development.The playground will feature a new line of equipment from KOMPAN Inc., of Tacoma, Wash., to help older adults gently increase their flexibility and improve their balance. It will consist of eight pieces of exercise equipment — a cycle trainer, leg lift station, cross-trainer, free runner, body flexor, a flex wheel, upper-body trainer and a sit-up bench, Dinkins said.The playground should appeal to adults who want more activity than passive programs at the senior center, such as bingo and card games, but who aren’t up to the Zumba lessons or line dancing held each week.Use of the playground, which is expected to be completed by the end of October, will be free of charge and wheelchair accessible.In February 2010, Dinkins, who said he is always on the lookout for new ways to entice people to use the community/senior center, read a story about a similar playground built in the United Kingdom. He began looking for a way to finance a similar site at Springfield Lake Park.The community/senior center serves about 300 people from Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Lakemore, and Portage and Stark counties as well as Springfield, he said.Dinkins contacted Paula Prentice, a Summit County councilwoman, who suggested he apply for a community grant from the federal Housing and Urban Development.“We were very excited about getting this started and discussed some of the areas where we could find some funding for the project,” Prentice said.Dinkins was so dedicated to the idea, he said he would have gone elsewhere seeking funds if the grant wasn’t awarded.“If I hadn’t gotten the [grant] money, I would have gone after private funds,” Dinkins said.Mark Yocca of Pittsburgh, the regional representative for KOMPAN, helped design the playground to be placed near the gazebo and facing Springfield Lake. The equipment is expected to be delivered by the middle of October, with installation completed by the end of the month, he said.“It’s a brand-new line — the first one I’ve sold,” he said.Since designing the play site, Yocca said, he has designed a similar one for Marysville, Pa., but said he believes the Springfield playground is the first one sold by the company in the United States.Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.