Plans for Point Road playground on point
Funds in place to cover $112K cost of new facility
BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer

The new playground at Point Road School will reflect the design of the previous playground (above) built out of wood 18 years ago by community members.

LITTLE SILVER - A new playground will be in place and ready for children at Point Road School before the Thanksgiving holiday.

The previous playground had been closed after a child was injured there and safety concerns led the borough Board of Education to have the playground demolished last month.

At last week's meeting of the board, more then two dozen parents and community members were in attendance to voice concerns about the lack of a playground at the kindergarten through fourth grade school and about the cost of the new playground.

According to board president Mandy Galante, the total cost of the new playground, including equipment, installation, as well as recycled rubber mulch, will be less than $112,000.

GameTime, Pleasanton, Calif., will provide the new plastic and metal equipment, to replace the former wooden playground at the school.

The equipment has a value of $109,055, according to Galante, but with the help of a grant, the cost to the district will be only $60,544.

At last week's meeting, the board also approved contracts for the other elements of the playground, including a $19,800 contract with Whirl Construction, Middletown, for the installation of the equipment, as well as a contract with Rubbercycle, Lakewood, in the amount of $31,354.

Board member Christian Smith, a member of the board's Buildings and Grounds Committee, said that although the rubber mulch made of recycled rubber tires is the second most expensive alternative for playground surfacing, it is the safest.

"You could drop on this from twelve feet," he said, "and not be hurt. We did a lot of research, and although wood mulch is still the most common, this is by far the safest. The rubber doesn't breed or attract insects. It doesn't grow mold. I am confident this is the best possible grounding for our kids."

The playground surface formerly was pebbles, which, according to Galante, would often end up in children's shoes.

Although the cost of a new playground had not been factored into this year's budget, according to Superintendent Dr. Marjorie Heller, funding seemed to come to the district just when it needed it most.

"We had been members of the state health benefits plan," Heller said, "but we recently left them and found another health plan. We received a rebate check from the state health benefits plan for $82,000, which has to be spent within this year."

Heller said that she and the board petitioned the county to use the rebate check to help fund a new playground since the old one had been a health and safety issue, and received permission to do that.

The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) has also helped with the funding, providing $20,000 for the effort.

Teresa Maguire, a member of the PTO, said at the board meeting that the PTO has also applied for a $5,000 matching grant that would provide for the remaining $10,000 shortfall.

"We really appreciate how fast the PTO got on board with this," said Galante.

Even the students were involved in the fundraising efforts, with the PTO asking children to put their spare change in a piggybank at school so they would feel a part of the new playground.

Heller said since the former Point Road playground was built 18 years ago, the standards for a safe playground have changed and the new playground will accommodate those changes.

"What we had was not ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] accessible," she said, "and this one, with the rubber mulch, will be."

Other standards include not having places on the playground where a child can be completely hidden from sight or anywhere a child might become trapped within the structure.

Heller said that the old wooden playground cost $125,000 when it was

installed by community members nearly 20 years ago, but since then the board had become aware that the wooden equipment was rotting and becoming more of a danger to children.

"We've always had children getting splinters on the equipment," Heller said, "but a few months ago, one little girl, a first-grader, got a splinter in her hand so deep, and the wood was so soft and rotten, that she had to have three visits to the doctor's office and finally surgery to remove it. When they pulled the splinter, pieces of the wood would just break off. After that, we closed the playground immediately and we knew it had to come down right away."

Heller said the original plan was to replace the playground piece by piece over the next few years, starting with the swing set.

The new playground, said Heller, is based on the footprint of the old playground, except the swing set will be pushed further back so children swinging will not interfere with children on the main section of the playground.

She also said there will be two tire swings on the playground, where there had been only one.

Some controversy arose when a flier circulated around town with the preliminary cost estimate for the new playground. Calculations handwritten on the flier stated the cost would exceed $180,000.

Although the flier had originally been handed out by the board at a previous meeting, Galante said the total cost was incorrect on the fliers residents received.

"It seems inappropriate," said Peter Roskowinski, Maple Avenue, "that the board is having to justify a flier it didn't even approve."

Edward Fenton, Sunnycrest Court, told the board he thought the choice for the new playground was wise.

"I think it's fair to say that the board did its homework," Fenton said. "I think it is probably possible to find something cheaper, but it might not be the best. I think they've done a good job. I think the best interests of the students and the children is what this is all about."

Marilyn Fenton, Sunnycrest Court, said her only complaint was the lack of communication with residents.

"You vowed better communication with the community," she said. "I think you really dropped the ball on this one."

Galante said that she agreed communication could have been better and the board will try in the future to make better use of not only the school Web site, but the municipality's Web site and newsletter as well.