St. Joseph City Commissioners have approved the purchase of new playground equipment for Riverview Park. The move came at a Monday meeting as Public Works Director Greg Grothous told them the purchase is included in the yearly budget. He told WSJM News it’s time to replace the current equipment.
“We estimate that the structure is over 25 years old,” Grothous said. “We don’t know exactly when it was installed, but just based on its condition, what some of the manufacturers see on it can kind of give its age. It’s had its use, and it’s time to update it.”
The cost of the new playground equipment is $98,000. Grothous said when it will actually arrive is a question that’s up in the air.
“We’ve seen a lot of significant delays in the playground industry. We’ve got some equipment that we’re over a year out from when we ordered it, and we’re looking at an end of December expected delivery, which we’ve heard that before, so it’s possible that it gets pushed out further. But fingers crossed that we’ll see it.”
Grothous said he hopes the new equipment will arrive within about a year. The structure includes accessible swings for all ages, spinners, a balance beam, slides, and a structure to climb. It will have an outdoors, woodsy theme. When asked if flooding at Riverview Park could affect the equipment, Grothous said the playground area is located in a part of the park least likely to be hit with flooding. He told us even if it is, the equipment would not likely be damaged.
