Central City Park playground replacement to resume

Gil Pound, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·2 min read

May 1—Work is scheduled to resume with the Central City Park playground replacement this week, a city official said.

The project was initially supposed to be completed by mid-April, but drainage issues had to be addressed before the playground's new rubberized base could go down, according to Milledgeville City Manager Hank Griffeth.

Once the drainage work was done, it became a waiting game as contractors were battling the weather at other installs. Now contractors should be on-site until the project is completed later this month, weather permitting.

Initial estimates were that the install portion — actually putting down the rubber surface and putting together the new equipment — would take 10 days. New fencing is also supposed to go up around what will be about 10,000 square feet of play area. If the weather cooperates, Milledgeville could have a new park playground by the middle of May. Griffeth said he does not anticipate needing to keep the playground closed until the fence is installed, but it won't be "officially" open until the fencing goes in, which should be by late May.

The plan is to have a ribbon cutting to celebrate the new equipment, which is replacing structures that were over 25 years old.

The playground at Central City Park, formerly known as Bonner Park, has been closed to the public since mid-February when city workers began taking down the old equipment that was sorely in need of replacement. Griffeth in February said having city employees handle the demolition saved the city $35,000 on the project set to cost over $500,000 between equipment and installation.

PlaySouth Playground Creators has the contract that will keep the playground basically within its old footprint. There will be three separate play areas — one for older kids, one for younger kids, and one to house the swings. The area that had six swings will increase to eight once the project is completed. Four will be traditional swings, two baby swings, and the remaining two will accommodate children with disabilities. The swings will be covered by shade canopies. There will be covered seating in the other two play areas as well, which was lacking in the playground's former setup. The new equipment will come in a red, black, white and gray color scheme.

The project is replacing old play structures that had been in use since the '90s. Their once-vibrant colors had become muted, and rust was fairly prevalent in some areas. The new rubber surface ought to be a significant upgrade over the former wood chip base, which was known to hold water after periods of heavy rain.

Griffeth said a couple months ago that finding funding was the holdup in green-lighting a replacement. The city was eventually able to do so by allocating money from its general fund.