(April 14, 2016) Two Berlin playgrounds require about $2,700 in repairs and maintenance, according to Sean Cooper, a certified playground inspector.
Cooper, who is also the assistant superintendent of water for the town, presented several recommendations during a Berlin Parks Commission meeting at Town Hall, April 5.
For Henry Park on Flower Street, Cooper recommended repairs and maintenance with an estimated total cost of $1,560. Those estimates did not include a slide exit chute, which needs to be repaired or replaced, as well as protective railing and mulch levels, which needed to be replenished.
Also not included in the estimate were portions of the shade fabric ($3,200) and two 15-inch tires, about $750 each. He said he was looking into cheaper options on the tires, with the caveat that alternatives were still compliant with playground regulations.
Cooper said the slide was installed in 2000, but the vendor had since gone out of business, and he was attempting to track down a suitable replacement part.
Committee member Patricia Dufendach suggested, because of the nature of the plastic material the slide was made of, the entire structure was likely failing.
“I am not at all encouraged to spend a lot of money on repairing this, when this plastic is telling us that it needs replacing,” she said. “If it was in my backyard, I would replace it.”
Cooper said he did not have an estimate for replacing it, but would work on one.
For Stephen Decatur Park, he recommended $1,140 in repairs and maintenance, not including mulch, which also needs to be replenished at the playground on Tripoli Street.
Administrative Services Director Mary Bohlen, the town’s liaison to the parks commission, said the town would look over Cooper’s proposal, and that it was possible a portion of his recommendations would have to be addressed after July 1, when the 2017 fiscal-year budget takes effect.
“[Water Resources/Public Works Director] Jane [Kreiter] and I will need to sit down at some point and talk about our anticipated expenses for the rest of this fiscal year, including the quotes, and figure out if we’re going to do it all now, [or] after July 1,” she said. “One way or the other, we will get all the necessary work done.”
Cooper said also said he wanted to power wash the playground equipment at both parks “before the weather warms up.”
He said the town did not have an estimates on usage for either playground, but that Stephen Decatur Park was used “by more people more frequently.”
Cooper, who is also the assistant superintendent of water for the town, presented several recommendations during a Berlin Parks Commission meeting at Town Hall, April 5.
For Henry Park on Flower Street, Cooper recommended repairs and maintenance with an estimated total cost of $1,560. Those estimates did not include a slide exit chute, which needs to be repaired or replaced, as well as protective railing and mulch levels, which needed to be replenished.
Also not included in the estimate were portions of the shade fabric ($3,200) and two 15-inch tires, about $750 each. He said he was looking into cheaper options on the tires, with the caveat that alternatives were still compliant with playground regulations.
Cooper said the slide was installed in 2000, but the vendor had since gone out of business, and he was attempting to track down a suitable replacement part.
Committee member Patricia Dufendach suggested, because of the nature of the plastic material the slide was made of, the entire structure was likely failing.
“I am not at all encouraged to spend a lot of money on repairing this, when this plastic is telling us that it needs replacing,” she said. “If it was in my backyard, I would replace it.”
Cooper said he did not have an estimate for replacing it, but would work on one.
For Stephen Decatur Park, he recommended $1,140 in repairs and maintenance, not including mulch, which also needs to be replenished at the playground on Tripoli Street.
Administrative Services Director Mary Bohlen, the town’s liaison to the parks commission, said the town would look over Cooper’s proposal, and that it was possible a portion of his recommendations would have to be addressed after July 1, when the 2017 fiscal-year budget takes effect.
“[Water Resources/Public Works Director] Jane [Kreiter] and I will need to sit down at some point and talk about our anticipated expenses for the rest of this fiscal year, including the quotes, and figure out if we’re going to do it all now, [or] after July 1,” she said. “One way or the other, we will get all the necessary work done.”
Cooper said also said he wanted to power wash the playground equipment at both parks “before the weather warms up.”
He said the town did not have an estimates on usage for either playground, but that Stephen Decatur Park was used “by more people more frequently.”