New playground could come in 2024

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Plans are underway to design a new park playground; Munchkinland would likely be torn out

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  • New playground could come in 2024
    New playground could come in 2024
  • New playground could come in 2024
    New playground could come in 2024
  • New playground could come in 2024
    New playground could come in 2024
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The Washington community could soon see fundraising efforts for the replacement of Munchkinland. Two members of the playground committee met with the Washington City Council Monday night to ask questions. During the discussion it was said that much of the current wooden Munchkinland structure would likely need to be replaced. A new structure could cost $300,000 to $500,000 but would last 30-50 years. Playground committee members are preliminarily considering an April 2024 build date, though the project is still in the planning stages.

Munchkinland was built in April 2000 during a community build project. It was expected to last 20 years with proper maintenance. In July 2021 the playground was inspected, and the report concluded that the playground needed a $55,000 update at that time, or a $360,000 complete replacement of the structure with “today’s latest materials.” Wood is no longer used because of the maintenance requirements.

Last spring the city council was notified that the Larry Davison estate left the city $227,558.76 to be used for parks. The council then formed a playground committee to look into playground replacement.

Playground committee members Andrea Alldredge and Taylor Miller met with the council this week and said the wooden playground needs to be completely redone. Some parts of the playground could be kept in a rebuild, but it wouldn’t match the new structure because new structures are made from a recycled plastic material that require little to no maintenance. Any parts of the old structure that are kept would probably have to replaced within 10 years anyway, they said.

The women said the committee’s goal is to salvage the Wizard of Oz characters and maybe place them in the shelter houses to protect them.

They have talked with the company that did Munchkinland, and that company likes to do themed playgrounds. The women said they were wanting direction on whether or not the Wizard of Oz theme was to be kept in a new playground.

County attorney Elizabeth Baskerville Hiltgen asked the women if they had surveyed the public to see what the public wants to see. The women said no surveys had been done yet.

Moving the playground?

Currently the wooden playground structure is at the north end of the park while a separate playground area is at the south end of the park. Some playground pieces at the south end are memorials. The Lions Club has been fundraising for improvements to the south end of the park, both to the shelter houses and the playground equipment. The playground committee has met with the Lions Club to discuss whether or not the two groups want to work together on one common play structure area, or keep two separate areas.

They said they don’t want to step on anyone’s toes while planning the new playground.

During Monday’s meeting, the playground committee members said they are focusing on the north end of the park now, but they are not opposed to working toward one large playground area that would be moved to the middle of the park. This would get the play structure area farther away from the street and tie together the north and south ends.

Some council members said they liked the idea of the playground moving to the center of the park while others expressed concern that a playground structure in the middle would be too far removed from the shelter houses where parents sometimes gather.

The playground committee members said they were also looking at putting rubber mats at the new playground instead of wood chips, which would also help with maintenance.

Community build?

The current Munchkinland project was built by volunteers in a community build project. The company that was used for that project, Playgrounds by Leathers, still offers community build playgrounds, though they are made with recycled plastic now. The cost is now $300,000 to $500,000. The playground committee members said they will need to do some fundraising, and memorial bricks will likely be sold and installed on the back of the brick wall at the park to fund the new build.

Miller said playground committee members wanted to be sure that any money they raised for the playground would go toward the playground. They didn’t want the city to take some of the money and earmark it for another use.

Miller also suggested that pieces of the old playground could maybe be sold, with money from the sales going toward the new playground.

Miller said the committee that did the previous playground build said April was a good time to build because school kids could help. She said the preliminary hope is to possibly build the new playground in April 2024 with the community’s help.

No decisions have been made on the type of playground, the exact location of the playground, or even the cost of the new playground.

The playground committee will next meet with the Lions Club to find out if they want to do a joint project, or if Lions Club wants to work on the south end themselves. The consensus of the council was that, if the Lions Club wants to work together on one big playground project, that was fine. If the Lions Club wants to continue to work on a south park project themselves, that is fine too.