Sanborn Park repairs highlight need for new playgrounds around city

LACONIA — Playgrounds across the city are aging, and while replacement costs are high, wear and tear can also be expensive to address, with parts going for thousands of dollars.

“We get wear and tear everywhere,” Parks and Recreation Director Amy Lovisek said. “My playgrounds are aging out, and eventually they will all need to be replaced. They are not cheap.”

Lovisek said someone discovered a plastic connecting piece at Sanborn Park’s playground was broken on June 29. She suspects it may have been by vandals, and made a police report, but also said it very well could have happened due to age.

“It is quite a few years old,” Lovisek said, noting the playground has been around for about two decades.

The new piece has a price tag of $2,778.12, and needs to be replaced by the company who built the playground, in order to keep the warranty active.

The playground was built by GameTime, and Lovisek said the parks & rec department is working to get a sole source for the part, to stay aligned with the city’s purchasing policy. She said anything being purchased with a cost of over $1,000 needs a quote, and over $5,000 requires a bid. The process needs to happen before the purchase is made, and she didn’t know when that would be.

“We did have to plywood off a section, and it kind of hinders the play, but it doesn’t eliminate it,” Lovisek said. “You just can’t go from apparatus to apparatus.”

Lovisek said eight of the city’s nine playgrounds need replacement, and the top priority is Opechee Cove, which was also built around 20 years ago. She said it is highly used, not only by local children, but by camps.

The price of a new playground can be upward of $350,000, which she will eventually request, and is currently part of the Capital Improvement Plan.

Lovisek said the matter is not extremely urgent, but talks need to start. Opechee Cove’s playground doesn’t have much flow to it, she said, unlike others which have walkways and structures that make it a more fluid experience. The last piece installed was purchased by the Opechee Park House Association, which no longer exists.

Patching up playgrounds has become custom instead. Lovisek said swings and chains are replaced regularly.

“Eventually, the F-hook at the top and the links themselves deteriorate,” Lovisek said. “But they all have to be replaced by the manufacturer, to keep that warranty.”

She said the Tardif Park playground had a piece that was failing and needed to be replaced last year.

“My crew is amazing,” she said. “They take care of it and get it done.”

Even if there was vandalism at Sanborn Park, it wasn’t nearly as bad as a situation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Wyatt Park playground was vandalized.

Lovisek said someone took a knife to two slides, gouging them completely. Lovisek said it was a shame for children who needed outdoor activity at such a strange time. The cost was $8,000 to fix the two slides, but worst of all, it put the playground out of commission for nearly a year.

“That was the worst part,” Lovisek said. “The money part is bad, but the fact that the kids couldn’t use the playground got to me.”

Lovisek said, fortunately, there has been no other vandalism to note at city playgrounds.

Last year, a new playground was built at Leavitt Park, and it's still in good shape. Other than that, all others need to be replaced, sooner rather than later. Lovisek has spoken with the playground manufacturer who built Leavitt Park, and provided an artist rendering of what could be done at Opechee Cove.

“I’d tweak that, and come into our budget range,” Lovisek said.

Costs go up quickly when building a playground. Specific mats are used to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and there is mulch and fencing that needs to be in place along with the actual structure.

Funding is the main obstacle. Private donations help, and there are grants available. However, building a playground will also require matching money from the city budget.

“If I had all the funding in the world, I could get them all done tomorrow, but no municipality has that,” Lovisek said.

Lovisek didn’t have an exact number, but said 20 years ago, a playground would have cost about 35% of today’s total. Adhering to state requirements and making sure playgrounds are as safe as possible comes with a cost.

“It’s a process,” Lovisek said. “It’s not a cheap endeavor, but the kids will be safe when using it. It gives them a spot to be outside and playing on a playground, and what’s better than that?”