Playground Equipment Saved at the Joel School
Thanks to a cooperative effort between the Board of Education Maintenance Department and the Public Works Department (DPW), some popular playground equipment at the Joel School Playground has been saved instead of discarded as originally planned.
Gonzalo Carrion, buildings and grounds supervisor for Clinton Public Schools explained that when the playground was originally installed, the land wasn’t properly graded, which later led to flooding issues that prevented kids from using the playground when it rained. To combat the flooding, wood chips were initially dumped around the playground, but Carrion said the wood just complicated the problem.
Despite the flooding issues, Carrion said the playground equipment itself was still in good condition. While the original plan was to remove and dispose of the old playground equipment, then install new equipment on a re-graded site, Carrion wanted to keep the old equipment.
“To be honest, I kept it because it as in good shape,” said Carrion.
Carrion said he knew the playground was popular with the kids. On a DPW Facebook page’s post about the project, several parents noted their approval of the project, commenting that their children enjoy the old playground.
The DPW Facebook post noted that saving the playground took “Working with the Board of Education Maintenance Department along with a little extra care and some old fashion ingenuity...”
Carrion said that the first step of the project was to remove the old playground. Next, they had to properly grade the land and install new materials to prevent the flooding. Then they had to reinstall the equipment, which Carrion said was “like a puzzle” making everything fit together.
The last step Carrion expects to be completed shortly when a new fence, mulch, and the new playground equipment are installed.
“Hopefully it will be ready soon,” said Carrion.
Carrion said part of the work was from a Smart Start Grant. Carrion also noted that the project could not have been done without working with DPW Director Peter Neff and the entire DPW.
“DPW did the hard work,” said Carrion.
Joel School is located at 137-A Glenwood Road, and serves children from pre-K to 3rd grade.