New Bellaire Playground Equipment Is ‘On Order’
The summer is nearly over, but new playground equipment for Bellaire’s 41st Street playground is on order and will be installed in November, according to village Administrator Scott Porter.
On Nov. 13, 2015, an arson fire destroyed a jungle gym and mulch rubber matting at the playground, with the total cost of replacement set at $90,000. Bellaire received insurance reimbursement for much of the damage, with the families of three juveniles charged in the incident ordered by the court to pitch in the remaining money.
American Legion Post 52 and many in the Bellaire community donated funds toward the playground renovation.
The Bellaire Park District has ordered the equipment, which had a price tag of $66,000, Porter said. It was delayed as village officials sought permits and inspections of the playground they later discovered weren’t mandatory.
“The insurance money covered the cost of the playground equipment,” he said. “But it wasn’t until the last three weeks we learned we didn’t need inspections.”
There are swings still at the playground for children to use.
The new playground will be handicapped-accessible, and it also will gain a feature that will permit it to be used by the nearby Indian Run Learning Center, according to Porter.
Teachers at the school didn’t take children to the playground because it wasn’t properly fenced in from the alley. A fence will be placed to keep the students from venturing away from the the playground and into the alley, he said.
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